Walking with the Samburu: How a Remote Tribe in Kenya Aligned my Professional and Personal Values
A 10-day trek through Kenya's Ndoto Mountains to shed our titles and rediscover what it truly means to lead
Why the Samburu?
When I invited a tenured Director to join me on a leadership expedition in Africa, where we’d hike 6–10 miles a day and sleep in tents surrounded by nature, she replied,
“Aileen, my ancestors worked too hard for me to live that life.”
I cracked up laughing — because in a way, she was right.
I’m a first-generation Filipino-American. My life changed course when my family immigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines when I was three and a half. Becoming “Americanized” transformed how I thought, acted, and spoke — setting me on a very different path from the one I would’ve lived had we stayed. And yet, I found myself drawn to this experience: trekking in the unrelenting heat of northern Kenya, alongside the marginalized and resilient Samburu tribe. Why?
Outside of work, I’ve always been driven by a curiosity for how others live. I travel to understand — not just to see. And for years I quietly held a dream: to one day live with an indigenous tribe in Africa and witness what a life grounded in community, ritual, and connection to nature could awaken in me.
At the same time, I felt hesitant. This was framed as a leadership journey — and I didn’t hold the title of a manager, director, or executive. I’ve been a senior designer for most of my career and aspire to step into a formal leadership role. Yet, I was craving a deeper definition of what it means to lead — not just at work, but in life.
Moving through the motions of Western ambition, I was often shaped by what was expected of me rather than what was true for me.
When I came across Safarini, it felt serendipitous. This journey provided the intersection I needed: a personal pilgrimage and professional reckoning. It offered a space to redefine leadership from the inside out — to recalibrate my internal compass, and to root how I lead in values that feel true not just in the workplace, but in the way I live.
Back to the basics
Six strangers from around the world met in Nairobi and ventured north to trek 50 miles through the Ndoto Mountains. We committed to ten days stripped down to the essentials, immersed in the land. Alongside us were the Safarini founders, three Samburu elders, 45 warriors, and a camel safari host named Helen — affectionately called “Mama” for the way she cared for the warriors and preserved their culture through her work.
We slept in tents with priceless views while the warriors remodeled the bush into a basic toilet and shower. Two rhodesian ridgebacks and two khaki mutts ran around asking for belly rubs while chasing away leopards at night. One armed guardsman led the way and ecstatically joined us when a dance spontaneously erupted.
Our 30L luggage limit ensured we didn’t overburden the 50 camels carrying camp gear and food. Reducing, reusing, and recycling was necessary to make the most of what we packed. Despite some of us being prepared with solar batteries and extra chargers, we simply didn’t have any signal. Digital detox didn’t require willpower, it was a way of living.
Despite having “bare essentials,” we were quite spoiled with the food. Helen operates her own farm and packed homegrown fruits, vegetables, eggs, dairy and meat. All ingredients were freshly prepared for each meal by the warriors. For such a rugged adventure, having delicious homemade quiche was not on my list of expectations. I still dream of the succulent lamb they roasted one evening along with creamy mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. It was simple but oh so decadent.
The Samburu perspective
An age-set system and collective wisdom
At the beginning of the trip we met with Rhodia Mann, a researcher and historian of the Samburu tribe. She gave us the foundational knowledge of her life’s work so that we can better understand and engage respectfully with the tribe. Her reverence for the people, their traditions, and their wisdom came through not only in her stories, but in the local museum she built to preserve their legacy as climate change and overgrazing threaten their way of life.
She introduced us to the Samburu’s age-set system, where each life stage is honored through rites of passage. Each age group carries its own responsibilities and endures its own hardships. This structure builds unity, camaraderie, and a deep sense of belonging.
As a gerontocratic society, the Samburu place elders at the heart of leadership. They mentor warriors and guide them through the transitions of life — boyhood to manhood, responsibility to wisdom. Leadership here is not imposed. It is inherited through experience and passed down communally.
Dancing as joy, regeneration and honor
Our first taste of Samburu joy came when 100 women from a nearby village gathered at the riverbed near our campsite to sell baskets — then joined the men in traditional dancing. What looked like simple neck thrusts and guttural hums turned out to be carefully coordinated movements from the knees bending to the spinal flexion and energetically releasing through the neck and head. The men would jump in unison and at the same height to convey unity.
When exhaustion overtook us during long hikes, the warriors broke into song and dance — inviting us in. Their joy was infectious. Somehow, despite our aching feet, we found ourselves laughing, energized, and singing along.
At the end of the expedition, we were honored with a ceremonial graduation. Facing the mountains, we sat as the warriors danced and sang behind us — symbolizing their support as we moved forward, carrying their wisdom into our own lives.
Living Naboisho: Collective over individual
In Samburu, Naboisho means “coming together.” It’s a form of consensus where shared decisions are made in service of the whole community and their natural resources.
When drought or overgrazing threatens survival, the elders and council of women meet to decide what is best — not for individuals, but for everyone. Here, leadership is rooted in collaboration and stewardship.
Though the word exists, it’s not used often. It doesn’t need to be as it’s simply how they live.
Suffering is not meant to be carried alone
During one of our 8-mile hikes, we stopped by a village to meet a widow, Mama Maliana, who welcomed us into her manyata–a circular compound consisting of huts made from mud, branches and fibers protected by an acacia thorned fence. As a widow, she is placed in the middle of the village so everyone can easily visit her. Children also come by to bring her gifts of milk. The community ensures she is never alone.
Here, suffering is shared. When someone experiences hardship, others respond with “Pole” (pol-eh), which literally translates to “sorry.” It’s not an apology. It’s an acknowledgment of pain, no matter how small.
At one meal, I dropped my fork, and a warrior serving us said, “Pole.” At first, I was confused — it wasn’t his fault. But I later learned this small gesture is a form of empathy. It says, “I see your discomfort, and I’m here with you.”
The more I understood this high-context language, the more I felt the sweetness of their words.
There is time for everything
Our days were full — hiking, engaging with elders, reflecting on leadership content. We often found ourselves checking the time, wondering how we’d fit it all in. Steven, our senior elder, reminded us that in Samburu there is time for everything. It was more important that we were present in our experience.
As we climbed steep hills, I winced from aching feet, he’d say:
“Pole pole — slowly, slowly. You will get there. You don’t need to rush.”
When I kept my head down, focused only on the thorns and terrain, he’d say:
“Look up! See what’s around you.”
At first, I laughed. But he was right. The scenery was breathtaking — and when was I ever going to take all of it in if not now?
“Pole pole” became a mantra. Not just a pace — but a mindset. One of patience. Presence. Trusting that everything will unfold in its own time.
Samburu values versus western values
The Samburu don’t perform their values. They embody them. Leadership isn’t about title — it’s about presence, intention, and integrity. It’s a way of being:
Respect honors elders, nature, and the collective. Without it, the system collapses.
Sharing is not optional — it’s survival. From food to wisdom, everything circulates.
Suffering is a rite of passage. Resilience is forged through hardship, not in its absence.
Community is identity. You rise together, or not at all.
In contrast, Western culture often emphasizes:
Autonomy: Individuality over interdependence. Connection is optional, not essential.
Ownership: Security through possession, often at the expense of communal good.
Comfort: Discomfort is optimized away. We rush to recover instead of learning through pain.
Self-Reliance: Success is self-made, ignoring the reality of unequal resources and access.
Living in the question
At the end of the journey, we were asked:
“What is one thing you will commit to doing differently in your leadership?”
“How will you embody Naboisho when you return?”
I didn’t have an exact answer — I had more questions. And I remembered a passage from Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke:
“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart… learn to love the questions themselves.”
Instead of rushing to resolve, I choose to live in the question. To focus not on certainty — but on becoming. Pole pole.
Questions I carry with me:
How am I cultivating and sharing my wisdom?
How do I structure my life so that I evolve into the leader I aspire to be?
How can I ease burdens within my community or organization, honoring the spirit of Naboisho?
How can I welcome challenges as teachers, not obstacles?
Redefining my leadership values
When I strip away titles, expectations, and ego — what is left guiding me?
Empathy: Speak up with care. Hold space. Foster connection. Uplift others. Empathy, like community, requires attunement to others’ emotions, needs, and stories. To lead with empathy is to recognize that we do not move through the world alone.
Integrity: Walk your talk. Show up fully. Integrity is consistency over time, even when tested. Resilience is not just as endurance, but as honoring who you are through life’s extremes. True integrity is a resilient and present, it is embodied truth.
Courage: Embrace uncertainty. Extract wisdom. Reframe obstacles. Courage often requires walking into discomfort, vulnerability, or loss. Suffering is a teacher — a necessary part of the human experience that strengthens character. Courage, then, is not just boldness, but the willingness to face and grow through hardship.
Wisdom: Embrace learning. Elevate stories. Wisdom isn’t hoarded — it’s shared, lived, and preserved in relationships. When rooted in sharing, it becomes a bridge between insight and action, individual and collective growth.
Alignment: Live your values. Alignment is inner and outer coherence — acting in a way that honors your values and the collective good. Respecting others and our environments in relation to ourselves reflect a reverence for harmony.
Beyond leadership
While this was framed as a leadership journey, it revealed something more essential — it was an invitation to pause, to observe, and to unlearn.
A place where wisdom is sung and hardship is shared. Where leadership is less about position and more about embodiment.
Slowly, slowly, I recalibrated my internal compass with more clarity and an authentic way of becoming.
Behind the personal reflection
If you enjoyed this exploration of the cultural and leadership lessons I witnessed among the Samburu, my companion article, What Pain, Privilege, and a Mountain Taught Me About Control, shares my internal process on one of the most physically demanding days of the trek—and how it reshaped my relationship with surrender, presence, and the limits of grit.
Hi Aileen, that is so perfectly captured and written. I did a Safarini trek last year and echo every word you’ve written. I continue to ‘live in the question’. Great to see you enjoying the journey.
I loved everything about this…. Especially going on this experience with you through your beautiful reflections and the pics that perfectly capture your essence 🥹💚. Mahal!!