And How Are the Children?
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Among the most accomplished and fabled tribes of Africa, no tribe was considered to have warriors more fearsome or more intelligent than the mighty Masai. It is perhaps surprising, then, to learn the traditional greeting that passed between Masai warriors: âKasserian Ingera,â one would always say to another. It means, âAnd how are the children?â It is still the traditional greeting among the Masai, acknowledging the high value that the Masai always place on their childrenâs well-being. Even warriors with no children of their own would always give the traditional answer, âAll the children are well.â Meaning, of course, that peace and safety prevail, that the priorities of protecting the young, the powerless, are in place. That Masai society has not forgotten its reason for being, its proper functions and responsibilities. âAll the children are wellâ means that life is good. It means that the daily struggles for existence do not preclude proper caring for their young. I wonder how it might affect our consciousness of our own childrenâs welfare if in our culture we took to greeting each other with this daily question: âAnd how are the children?â I wonder if we heard that question and passed it along to each other a dozen times a day, if it would begin to make a difference in the reality of how children are thought of or cared about in our own country. I wonder if every adult among us, parent and non-parent alike, felt an equal weight for the daily care and protection of all the children in our community, in our town, in our state, in our country. . . . I wonder if we could truly say without any hesitation, âThe children are well, yes, all the children are well.â What would it be like . . . if the minister began every worship service by answering the question, âAnd how are the children?â If every town leader had to answer the question at the beginning of every meeting: âAnd how are the children? Are they all well?â Wouldnât it be interesting to hear their answers? What would it be likeâ¦ I wonder? hide

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Among the most accomplished and fabled tribes of Africa, no tribe was considered to have warriors more fearsome or more intelligent than the mighty Masai. It is perhaps surprising, then, to learn the traditional greeting that passed between Masai warriors: âKasserian Ingera,â one would always say to another. It means, âAnd how are the children?â
It is still the traditional greeting among the Masai, acknowledging the high value that the Masai always place on their childrenâs well-being. Even warriors with no children of their own would always give the traditional answer, âAll the children are well.â Meaning, of course, that peace and safety prevail, that the priorities of protecting the young, the powerless, are in place. That Masai society has not forgotten its reason for being, its proper functions and responsibilities. âAll the children are wellâ means that life is good. It means that the daily struggles for existence do not preclude proper caring for their young.
I wonder how it might affect our consciousness of our own childrenâs welfare if in our culture we took to greeting each other with this daily question: âAnd how are the children?â I wonder if we heard that question and passed it along to each other a dozen times a day, if it would begin to make a difference in the reality of how children are thought of or cared about in our own country.
I wonder if every adult among us, parent and non-parent alike, felt an equal weight for the daily care and protection of all the children in our community, in our town, in our state, in our country. . . . I wonder if we could truly say without any hesitation, âThe children are well, yes, all the children are well.â
What would it be like . . . if the minister began every worship service by answering the question, âAnd how are the children?â If every town leader had to answer the question at the beginning of every meeting: âAnd how are the children? Are they all well?â Wouldnât it be interesting to hear their answers? What would it be likeâ¦ I wonder?

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And How Are the Children?
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