by Daniel Buckley

In two weeks, on April 23, National Geographic is airing a documentary called Taking on New York about two Kenyan men from the Maasai and Sambutu tribes who come to New York City to learn more about the modern world. As National Geographic describes the special…

As the modern world begins to encroach on the Maasai and Samburu way of life, there is concern they are in danger of losing their traditions. The younger generation is being tempted to leave the villages for the promise of jobs and money in the cities. Best friends and fierce warriors, Lemarti Loyaban and Boniface Kandari decided that rather than fear the modern world, they needed to understand it. So with the elders' blessing, they traveled to the New York on a voyage of discovery — to learn and try to understand the modern world by immersing themselves into New York culture. They were also here to represent the Maasai and Samburu tribes and to try and cross the cultural divide.

Last October, Lemarti and Boniface spent an extraordinary afternoon volunteering at the the Food Bank's Community Kitchen & Food Pantry of West Harlem (extraordinary for them and for everyone at the Kitchen). As you can imagine, they had many questions, among them: “Why do you build buildings that don’t let the sun in…and why do onions make me cry.”

In a follow up note from their producer, we were told that “their favorite part of ALL the shooting period was... the time that they spent with your organization because they saw the great work that was being carried out. I think that the few hours they spent with you has really stayed with them.”

So mark your calendars and don’t miss the show!