OVERVIEW OF SIX WEEK PROGRAM IN KENYATypical Day
Breakfast prepared by your local cook
Head to the building site/school & get to work!
Chai (tea) time enjoy some African tea and a chapatti
Feeling refreshed after a break, time to get back to work!
Lunch is at the local school with the teachers
Back to the building site/school until 4
After work there are loads of things to keep you busy! From organising a local football match, extra school classes, collecting water for your shower from the well with the villagers, or sampling the local brew!!
Itinerary - Day 1 (Saturday)
If arriving on day 1 of the itinerary a complimentary airport pickup is provided. You must provide your flight arrival details including flight number and arrival time.
Starting in Nairobi, Kenya
Your project joining point is in Nairobi, Kenya. Meet your overseas crew and your group in Nairobi. Please be at the meeting point hostel for no later than 7pm. We will have a welcome meeting with the rest of the group. If your flight is delayed, or you are not scheduled to arrive until later that evening, please do not worry as your trip leader may do the orientation meeting in the village instead.
Days 2 - 3
We set off to our village in a rural part of Kenya's Rift Valley the following morning (Sunday), depending on any flight delays etc. You will be taken in the local style bus (approx. 3 hrs) and enjoy our first views of great escarpments, extinct volcanoes and beautiful Lake Naivasha. As you travel up the road look out for baboon and zebra, your first glimpse of Africa's wildlife.
Arriving in Gilgil, you will see the typical hustle and bustle of a town going about its daily business as you move onward to your village on its outskirts. Arrival at our project house will be marked by a welcome from our host family, head teacher or community representative.
Accommodation is in a shared house with your group. Your house will be close to a water source but may not have running water. You will have a shower cubicle, either indoor or outdoor, and you will take the traditional 'bucket shower'.
Electricity may not be available but alternatives will be provided - usually paraffin lamps, which create a really cozy environment in the evenings. You will be able to charge your phone at the weekend if you decide to do some independent travel.
Beds will be mattresses on the floor and bedrooms are shared with your fellow volunteers. You will have a social area such as a living room and there may be a garden to enjoy relaxing in after school.
Storage will be limited and you are strongly advised not to take any valuable items with you including ipods, jewellery, expensive cameras etc. Your accommodation is selected in a secure, proximate location to the school. A local cook is provided which often will be a member of the host family within whose house you are staying.
Days 3-13
Take time to soak up the scenery and meet some of the people you will be working with both in the school and the village. You will be given a chance to see the building site and see where you will be working on a new project or continuing an existing one.
Meet the school community from the teachers to the board of parents and many small faces peering curiously at you. The Kikuyu communities speak good English but also appreciate a greeting in their local language, give it a try and enjoy the reaction.
Get to know your surroundings, find out where the local 'store' is and what delights they sell, be introduced to the nearest water source and how your community makes the journey home with it. Mark the first sight of your new building or plot with a photo, as the scene will soon change.
Your usual working hours are 8am - 4pm with breaks during the day. You will have an opportunity to take a morning break for 'chai' (African tea) as well as lunch.
Throughout the day we will rotate teaching as and when lessons are timetabled.
When not teaching we can return to work on the building site or plan our next lessons.
Each day we have the opportunity to explore the community after school and take part and organise activities with the community. We can visit Gilgil for a look around the nearby shops, wander the plains and find your own plateau to enjoy the view over the valley.There are many opportunities that await you in your village. You can help set up nutrition programmes or support recycling or energy saving projects. Take the chance to visit the local clinic and learn about medical care. The key is getting to know your village and how they need your support.
We also can look for opportunities to play sport with youth groups, football and volleyball are always winners. Each project reaches a 2-week milestone so your contributions will be recognised at the end of every milestone.
Days 14-27
Relationships in your community will be developing so that you can take on more responsibility in your work. Researching your village's particular challenges may lead to exciting side projects.
Tackling side projects such as educational murals or organising sports coaching sessions or competitions will inspire your community to work with you and achieve their goals that also become yours.
You will be able to learn more about the different Kenyan tribes, from the Kikuyu to Maasai. Take time to try out cooking chapattis, a favorite staple of the Kenyan diet, or sample the local beer from the traditional cow horn cup.
Your building will be changing radically from when you first began - make sure you photograph every stage so you can look back and appreciate the hard work that you've all put in.
Appreciate every day with your new friends in the community - the time will fly but the memories will last forever.
Days 28-41
In your final weeks on the project your ideas will have been implemented in the building project and classroom and you will have gained a good knowledge of the local culture.
Give this time your all and see the results of your hard work on the building site and in the school. You will be leaving behind a sustainable project for the community and local children who will have benefited from your classroom work.
If there is time, you might get to go on a hike around the area with the villagers who know it best. Visit the families of those you have worked alongside and share a meal with them.
There will be plenty of opportunities for exchange of songs and stories, and don't forget contact numbers with your fellow travellers and friends from the village.
Watch the last sunrise in your village to mark a unique experience that will never fade from your memory and is only the beginning of your bonds with your home away from home.
Day 42
You will be returned to Nairobi for no later than 7pm.
How to combine volunteering with your overland trip
We want to make it easy for you to help out in a local school......
You can combine a volunteer project easily with many of our trips, but particularly those commencing or finishing in East Africa.
