内容摘要：Those who made the cut include classically trained Austrian countertenor JJ, a bookies’ favorite with his over-the-top pop-opera song “Wasted Love,” and

Those who made the cut include classically trained Austrian countertenor JJ, a bookies’ favorite with his over-the-top pop-opera song “Wasted Love,” and

They have traveled to Olaimutiai in Kenya’s Narok county from all over the Maasai ancestral lands in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. All 900 were handpicked to take part in a Maasai warrior training camp, which only happens every 10 to 15 years. It teaches Maasai cultural values, leadership skills — and how to be tough.Isaac Mpusia, a 16-year-old high schooler, was visited at home last March by a group of boys who asked for and were offered hospitality, and stayed overnight. The next day, they told him to leave with them.

“They didn’t tell me (where we were going) and I was worried at first,” he says. But he understood the honor of having been chosen, and went.Isaac Mpusia, 16 years old, of the Maasai tribe poses for a photo, during the Enkipaata ceremony, a Maasai male rite of passage, specifically the initiation of boys, marking the transition from childhood to becoming a moran (warrior) in Olaimutiai, Narok County, Kenya Thursday, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)Isaac Mpusia, 16 years old, of the Maasai tribe poses for a photo, during the Enkipaata ceremony, a Maasai male rite of passage, specifically the initiation of boys, marking the transition from childhood to becoming a moran (warrior) in Olaimutiai, Narok County, Kenya Thursday, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Maasai children line up during the Enkipaata ceremony, a Maasai male rite of passage, specifically the initiation of boys, marking the transition from childhood to becoming a moran (warrior) in Olaimutiai, Narok County, Kenya Wednesday, April 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)Maasai children line up during the Enkipaata ceremony, a Maasai male rite of passage, specifically the initiation of boys, marking the transition from childhood to becoming a moran (warrior) in Olaimutiai, Narok County, Kenya Wednesday, April 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

“When you come here, you learn a lot of things that were done by our parents,” Mpusia says. “You have to have discipline.”

Traditionally, transitioning from child to warrior as a Maasai involved taking part in a one-year warrior camp. Maasai youths would be secluded and learn survival skills, bushcraft — and, if the opportunity arose, how to kill a lion.The goals don’t have a timeline, and various county leaders are tasked with “championing” each step. Jackson said she’s seeing high energy from employees to begin implementing the action plan, adding: “It’s like the conditions are right for the culture to shift.”

It’s progress that’s “more than the bread crumbs they’ve given us,” said Kula Koenig, the chief program officer at Public Health Advocates.And Phil Serna, the county board member who brought forth the declaration, said it’s important to recognize what has been done — and what still lies ahead.

“I think in many respects dealing with racism, addressing racism responsibly, is kind of like painting the Golden Gate Bridge, right?” he said. “As soon as you think you’re done, you’re not. You have to go back and start painting again.”This story is part of an AP ongoing series exploring the