Internationally renowned tribal rights leader joins ICROSS team.

For more on this update please check our site at http://icrossinternational.org/news.aspx?id=102

Peter Saitaga, one of Kenya's most famous Maasai leaders has joined ICROSS. P Ole Saitaga who represents Maasai tribal communities across the vast savannah has been an ambassador of the Maasai around the World. Together with the Zulu, the Maasai are the two tribes that are known by everyone. Of the 6,000 tribes in Africa, few are as respected or known as the Maasai. P Ole Saitaga has worked with communities served by ICROSS for over 25 years. He is now the ICROSS community representative and spokesperson for ICROSS rural development projects. ICROSS works across a vast terrain spanning over 26,400 square Kms of Africas great Rift Valley.

Together with other elders and Maasai leaders the community spokesman said " We have worked closely since 1983 with Dr Mike Meegan and ICROSS, ICROSS is Maasai, Maasai is ICROSS. the great success of our projects is that we the communities own the work. Many people are jealous of the great success of our work. Many see the Maasai projects created through ICROSS as a wonderful way of rethinking AID and development. ICROSS is about us , about the people, in our ways , in our language, through our cultures. Some have challenged this, others tried to steal money raised by Dr Meegan, others have tried to steal even our work. Because we own the projects, ICROSS can not be stolen, it is ours. The day will come when all development will be driven by the African communities. We the Maasai believe in determining our own ideas of change. We will not accept ideas imposed without us. Dr Michael Meegan has lived among us, learnt our culture, our language we encourage others to do the same. " Speaking among the Maasai today, the Maasai leader, now ICROSS ambassador at large said " We welcome those who respect our culture, our traditions and our ways. We want people to learn from us, experience our civilisation and our way of life, you are welcome to see our work and the special approach of ICROSS which belongs to the way of life of our people"
Dr Michael Meegan added " Saitaga has worked with us gor many years and is deeply loved and respected across the Maasai communities and clans in all districts, he knows our programmes for decades and is a dynamic witness to how the ICROSS model has worked over generations"

ICROSS, which stands for "the International Community for the Relief of Suffering and Starvation" is a Kenyan-based non-governmental organization founded by Michael Meegan, Joseph Barnes and Thomas O'Riordan which specialises in long term primary health, community health care and public health programmes. The organisation's headquarters are based in Ngong, Rift Valley, Kenya. ICROSS www.icrossinternational.org . ICROSS has a long established research programme with a number of different patrners and research collaborators.
[edit] Activities

ICROSS www.icrosskenya.org works as a Kenyan-based development NGO, with a focus in the field of health,[1][2] with key international lectures [3] including the RedR Future shocks lecture,.[4] ICROSS is responsible for a large terminal care programme and a series of public health programmes. One of ICROSS's key research streams has been investigating means of solar disinfection (SODIS) of contaminated drinking water, and has helped conduct a number of control trials of SODIS.[5] Engaged in multi country collaborative programmes www.rcsi.ie/hwts09 ICROSS stresses traditional tribal values, building development programmes through the exisyting decision systems and creating locally driven agendas.

International profile ICROSS campaigns have included Africa awakes which tries to change the stereotypes and negative perceptions of Africa www.africa-awakes.com These exhibitions have received wide media coverage in Italy and France. ICROSS public health work has been cited Internationally , medical work has appeared in key scienticif journals since 1981. Meegan who received many international awards http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Elmore-Meegan was featured in BBC's Hardtalk current affair's programme for his work for ICROSS[6] while in 2006 the organisation was the subject of an award winning documentary by Irish Television.[7] ICROSS and its Founders have received widespread recognition for their work, especially in long term public health and creating lasting community development programmes. ICROSS spcialises in long term pastoralist health programmes, the most recent example of which was opened in December 2010 at Ilkilorit, Maasai land in Kenya. They have been covered extensively in the media, most recently for SODIS and for Africa awakes campaigns fighting racism, prejudice and stereotypes. In 2003 the founder received International person of the year in Ireland and in 2006 was the second person ever to receive a D Med Honoris Causa for his work in International health.www.nui.ie/college/docs/citations/2006/meegan.pdf

ICROSS work is widely cited ( see google scholar ) and the administration is entirely Africanied since August 2000.

Media news items include research http://www.emwis.net/initiatives/fol060732/proj634131 http://physiciansforhumanrights.org/library/letter-2003-10-16.html The International NGO which has multi lateral and bi lateral donors. Since 2003 the expansion of ICROSS International has seen the creation of an International Advisory board in 2009 chaired by Dr Davida de La Harpe. In October 2009 ICROSS launched www.icrossinternational.org and www.icrosskenya.org

Michael Meegan has also written numerous books on his work with ICROSS including 'All Will Be Well'(the successor to 'All Shall Be Well'), 'Surprised by Joy' and 'Changing the World 2008 A new series of books is being published by eye books www.eye-books.con

In January 2010 ICROSS Kenya extended its Rural health programmes. In March ICROSS Kenya began legal action in Ireland to try and establlish where funds raised for Kenyan projects had gone. The co founder of ICROSS Dr Joe Barnes installed a new Board of Directors in ICROSS Ireland july 2010 and funding to ICROSS Kenya programmes resumed. This funding was raised by the Founders