ACTIVITIES
In Kenya, we are working in partnership with Greencard Mtaani, an NGO based in Kibera, a slum district of Nairobi. Greencard's CEO is called Fred Otanga. There is another nearby NGO called Project Elimu, which offers education & training in dance, digital literacy, skateboarding and girls' football. We are currently negotiating with it to see how our volunteers could work there.
Some of our volunteering is based in Greencard Mtaani's Malaika School. You will be expected to assist with all volunteering activities, including building & refurbishment, basic teaching of, or helping with, Maths and English, and assisting with, or organising, limited sports & P.E. lessons, along with general tasks needed to run the school such as cooking & serving food to the children, clearing up, childcare, etc.
Malaika School has limited sports infrastructure, and is quite small with only about 80 pupils, so for those volunteers who want to concentrate more specifically on sports, we are making arrangements with Joash Olum Primary & Junior Secondary School in Silanga Village, Kibera, just a short walk from Malaika School. Joash Olum School is a government school with a population of over 300 children. The age range is from 6 to 14 years old. Opportunities may also exist here for teaching more advanced students, or teaching as a classroom assistant under the supervision of a local teacher. This is still to be negotiated.
PLEASE NOTE the school summer holidays are starting earlier this year in Kenya i.e. they break up on 3rd August and start again on 24th August. Therefore, academic and sports teaching in schools will not be possible through most of August, so please book your placement between June and July, as we cannot guarantee enough building work to keep you occupied in August, until the children are back.
If you are interested in Medical & Healthcare volunteering, we offer a placement at Langata Sub-County Hospital. It's a small hospital but provides the following services: mental health, outpatient / inpatient care, special clinics, dental, nutritional care, maternity, operating theatre, paediatrics and radiology. This programme is mainly suitable for volunteers who are studying, or who wish to study, medicine.
ACCOMMODATION
Your accommodation is at a guesthouse called Mdawida Homestay where breakfast and dinner will be served. A mid-morning snack and lunch will be provided for at Malaika School, if you are working there or at a nearby school or centre. For those volunteering at Langata hospital, there is no staff canteen but there are food outlets nearby. Fred will make arrangements to refund lunch costs incurred in this case. Images of Mdawida Homestay are shown below. It resides in a gated complex, so it's quite safe and secure. There are some shops and cafés within walking distance, and shopping malls a short taxi-ride away.
FLIGHTS
If you decide to volunteer with us in Kenya, you need to book your outbound flight to Nairobi's main airport, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (IATA code: NBO). Flights to Kenya are operated by a number of carriers from the UK, including KLM, Air France, British Airways and Kenya Airways. Most flights from Newcastle, and other major UK provincial cities, include a transfer via a European hub such as Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels, Frankfurt, etc. Some direct flights are available from London.
General information about Kenya can be found at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/kenya
