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WINSTON CHURCHILL MEMORIAL TRUST

Volunteering Programme in Kenya

Assisting the Kitale Rafiki project

Expedition Leader: Andrew Dean

Churchill Fellow 2009

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Background

Kenya has been part of me now since September 2006 when I travelled to the country as part of my

gap year travels. During my four month period I was placed at a school in Kitale, on the western

border of the country in the shadow of Mount Elgon. Travelling overland from Nairobi down the Rift

Valley though the small towns and villages I knew that this experience would be something very

special. Namawanga primary school where I taught was built by the Mayer family on their farm in

the 1960’s and is still run and maintained by them now. My time teaching was very enjoyable and I

learnt a lot about the local traditions and culture, although this wasn’t enough to make me want to

revisit the country in the future. It was only when I was sadly the victim of a robbery in Mombasa

town, where I had my camera and video camera stolen along with all of my visual memories that I

decided to make a return trip in 2007.

The idea of this second venture to Kenya was to

revisit all of the people and places which made such a

big impression on me. Within my two week stay with

Helen Mayer we talked about how voluntary

organisations give very little money to the locals, in

my case to the school I was teaching at. As a result of

this I enquired about the possibility of helping with a

project in the area. Helen was more than happy to

suggest a couple of worthy causes which could do

with some extra support. A new project, the idea of

Sylvester a head teacher, was brought to my

attention. The idea was to start up a unit for hearing

impaired children at his school and give these children

an education, rather than the mundane work which

they were used to at home. This sounded like a

worthy cause and so I promised to send over some

money to help Sylvester cover some of his sign

language course in Nairobi.

Back at home and busy showing my photos to

family and friends I began thinking about

raising a little money for Sylvester. As I was at

university money was very low and so my first

cheque was a modest £50, although a great

deal in Kenyan Shillings. The money was sent

at the end of October and I had expected for it

to take a long time to reach Mrs Mayer. At the

end of 2007 Kenya began to suffer from major

post election violence. All of a sudden I was

turning on the news to see familiar sights set

alight and even people whom I had met telling

reporters their stories. Checking my bank

account I could see the money had not been

Map showing location of Kitale and Nairobi

One of the photos from Sylvester showing the first classroom

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withdrawn so I made my first attempt to get in touch with Mrs Mayer to hear any news of the

cheque, but more importantly how the violence was affecting the people I knew. No answer came

for the next week and the news only showed things getting worse. Getting very worried I made the

decision to try and call Jonathan her son who also lives on the farm to just confirm everything was

ok. It was then in early January that I found out Mrs Helen Mayer had sadly died aged 83. What a

huge shock it was to find out such news to accompany the troubles happening in the country.

Jonathan explained what had happened and told me how he could not see how the work with

Sylvester could continue, so soon after it had began, as his mum was the only sponsor.

Sad news turned into action as I made the choice to get in contact with Sylvester and try and help

wherever I could. In his reply via email, he had attached two photos of a roughly built tin shack

structure which he called the classroom for the hearing impaired children. How could any child learn

in such a poor structure? Children with hearing impairment need visual aids to assist in their

education, but the iron sheet walls lay bare and the children sat cramped together on second hand

desks from the main school. This was unfair. In April 2008 I began the Birunda School Build a

Classroom Appeal at university and booked my third trip for June. A jar full of money, sponsored

chest wax and several other ideas later I had somehow managed to raise £1700 enough to build not

only one proper brick built classroom but two and an office! What an amazing achievement and by

the end of my third trip the children were being taught in a comfortable educational environment.

Now I knew that Kenya was part of me and I had to carry on the work I was doing at Birunda for the

children and for the memory of Helen Mayer, a huge inspiration to many.

The start of my second year at university and along with my course and many other additional roles

within the university I decided to continue with my fundraising and also made the choice to take a

group of students to Kenya with the aim of them experiencing such a magical country and culture.

Things changed at the end of 2008 and I made the tough decision to defer my course in the hope of

being sure that teaching was for me and also to allow me to get Birunda School’s unit for the

Hearing Impaired up to a sustainably and self sufficient level. My eight willing volunteers from all

three year groups were very keen and busy fundraising for their trip ahead. At this point I could not

predict what would happen in 2009 or how the trip would work out, but one worry of how I would

finance the eight week summer trip was over when I was accepted as a Winston Churchill Fellow and

awarded a grant.

Completed classrooms of 2007

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Aims and Goals

• Continue to help and support Birunda School for the Deaf.

• To gain invaluable life experiences and transferable skills to broaden your horizons about the

world.

• Experience many aspects of Kenya to understand the country and its people.

• Assist in some construction at the school.

• Leave a lasting impact and impression upon the school.

• Improve the level of spoken and written English throughout the school children.

Planning and Preparation

Every detail from interviewing the candidates to designing the itinerary and booking all of the

activities and accommodation was down to me. I’m a very determined person and like to set myself

a challenge and this was definitely one of those. I had previous experience of working with groups of

children and adults alike, and have also planned events and holidays before, but this was in a new

league altogether. Thankfully everything ran very smoothly and being in Kenya at the start of the

year allowed me to complete on the ground research, and compare prices to get the best deal for

the volunteers, allowing more money to be injected into the newly named Kitale Rafiki project.

Flights, accommodation, insurance and safari booked, it was down to business with the school

arranging the project side of the eight students four week visit. It was my aim to allow the students

to choose a preferred age group to teach, in the main school, and then additional lessons within the

special unit would be available. Each of the students had an interest in teaching in the UK and so an

experience like this would be highly valuable for their course and future careers. By the end of

planning it had been possible to allocate each student an English lesson, P.E lesson and either a

lesson in maths or creative art depending on their preference. This gave the volunteers an average

of fourteen lessons per week, still allowing them plenty of time to get involved in extra lessons in the

school and for some travel around the local area.

Additional to the group of students I was expecting three other volunteers to arrive after the student

group departed. These three volunteers were looking more towards exploring and experiencing

Kenya combined with some work in Birunda School. This involved booking accommodation and

safari’s from the Western to Eastern Kenya, luckily my previous knowledge and experience of the

country made this relatively easy to do.

Two weeks before departure the flight was cancelled and moved to the following day 11th June, so

the first couple of days had to be reworked, the final programme is as below:

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Date Activity 11th June Virgin Atlantic flight to Jomo Kenyatta Airport, Nairobi

12th June Arrived in Nairobi, settled in to Wildebeest Camp and visited two schools in Kibera

13th June Orientation Day tour of Nairobi visiting Elephant Orphanage, Giraffe Centre, Kazuri Bead Workshop, Curio Shop and evening meal at Carnivore restaurant.

14th June 8 hour overland travel to Kitale stopping at Rift Valley view point

15th June – 3rd July

Volunteering at Birunda Primary School, St Vincent Home for physically disabled children and work with a medical and feeding programme with street children. (At weekends the group shall have free travel to explore the local area)

4th July Travel overland back to Nairobi

5th – 7th July Safari to Nakuru and Amboseli national parks

8th July Free day in Nairobi Arrival of second smaller group of three volunteers

9th July Departure of student group on Virgin Atlantic to Heathrow, London. Visit to Kibera with new group

10th July Internal flight to Kitale

11th - 21st July Volunteering at Birunda Primary School, St Vincent Home for physically disabled children and work with a medical and feeding programme with street children. Many small one or two day trips around the region.

22nd July Travel to Nairobi overland

23rd July Fly to Mombasa and drive Sand Island Beach Cottages, Tiwi

24th – 27th July Safari to Tsavo East, Amboseli and Tsavo West national parks

28th – 30th July Safari - Night at Sand Island Beach Cottages, Tiwi

31st July Fly to Nairobi

1st August Overland travel to Kitale

2nd – 7th August Volunteering at Birunda Primary School

8th August Overland travel back to Nairobi

9th August Departure on Virgin Atlantic flight to Heathrow, London

The main group additional visits included:

Webuye Falls

Kakamega Rainforest

Pokot Region

Mount Elgon national park

Lake Baringo national park

Kitale town

Second group additional visits included:

Webuye Falls

Kakamega Rainforest

Mount Elgon national park

Lake Baringo national park

Mombasa Old Town

Diani Beach

Kitale town

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Arrival of the Group

Leaving the Wildebeest Camp at 5:30am I headed towards Jomo Kenyatta airport to greet and

welcome the eight volunteers into Kenya and onto the first Kitale Rafiki volunteer programme. The

travellers all exhausted and weary from their flight seemed in good spirit. They and I already had a

bond from the various fundraising activities and meetings which we had before departure. Loaded

up into the two vehicles, bags in one, us in the other, the group took their first look at Nairobi. From

the beginning I knew the group were going to have an amazing experience and see many wonderful

things, but I never expected them to see wild zebra after only five minutes on the road. What luck?

The views of the city and the sudden change of culture is visible from the outset and the students

responded accordingly, eyes and mouths open trying to take it all in.

Due to a days delay in arrival the group had only five hours to freshen up, rest and relax at their

Nairobi home before going straight into Kibera Slum. This was sure to give them the biggest culture

shock they would have in the duration of the trip. There are not many places that can be more

removed from comfortable living in the UK, to suddenly be immersed in crowded shanty streets and

seeing poverty all around. Nerves were evident throughout as we followed our guide Victor, a

teacher and one of the main founders of the Kibera project we were visiting, dodging the waste

covered “path” they entered the school. Their first feel of the welcoming nature of Kenyan children

was one filled with mixed emotions. Part of me wondered if this was too much too soon, it couldn’t

be helped though and soon they slowly settled in and enjoyed the attention from the 250 pupils all

shouting “how are you?” This would be the most common phrase to be heard over the next four

weeks. The following few hours were challenging as so many new sights and stories were presented

to the group.

The second day was much nicer and more touristic than the first and

allowed the group to experience some of Kenya’s famed wildlife, albeit

in enclosed environments. On the day tour we started off at David

Sheldrick’s Elephant Orphanage watching the baby elephants and rhino

at feeding time. Then we proceeded onto the Giraffe Centre where up

on a platform you find yourself at giraffe head height and so able to feed

them directly. Lunch was at the ostrich and crocodile farm for a

traditional Kenyan food buffet allowing then to taste many dishes they

Eight volunteers at Kisumu Dogo Primary School, Kibera Kitale Rafiki group standing on a Soweto Academy's footbridge over a Kibera sewer

Stroking orphaned baby elephants

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would be offered during their stay. In

the afternoon we visited Kazuri Bead

factory, a curio shop and a curio village

where many of the items to be bought

were being hand carved there and

then. The aim of shopping early on was

to hone in their haggling skills and

working out the worth of the Shilling.

To complete the day I had arranged for

the group to experience the most

famous of Nairobi restaurants.

Carnivore is as the name suggests a meat

eater’s paradise; there are twelve types of meat to try as its carved straight from the barbeque on

long skewers. It was truly a good place to relax and discuss their early time in Kenya and find out

how they were feeling with so many changes to their regular experiences.

Travel

After two days of experiencing many aspects of Kenyan culture and life the group and all of their

200kg of donations boarded the hired matatu, a local mini bus made from a converted Nissan van,

and set off on the seven hour journey across to Kitale from Nairobi. The journey takes in Nairobi, the

Great Rift Valley, Nakuru, Naivasha, Eldoret and many other small villages in between.

The Rift Valley view point was our first stop allowing everyone to take in the scale and beauty of this

magnificent place. Many of the group were surprised to see how green the land was and how cool

the air was around us. It was their impression, as with many, that Kenya would be hot and dry. From

the view point you can see for mile upon mile of lush green

farm land, interspersed with small farms and hills.

The offers to use the public facilities, a long drop toilet, were

not taken up by any of the group, but if they had, they would

have had a truly amazing view. After a bit of haggling for a

few curios we were back on the road, stopping once more

for lunch at Nakuru. Travelling around a great deal of Kenya

myself I can honestly say that the changing landscape and

cultures which you witness on this journey are hard to

match. With the journey came an opportunity for the group

to ask myself and our driver George any questions which

they had from what they were seeing as we travelled. One

topic of post election violence came up as we began to see

signs of burnt shops, homes and internally displaced

people’s camps. George was threatened and displaced from

his home and now stays in Nakuru, he still hopes to return.

Amy ready for her Carnivore meal

Rift Valley view point

Burnt shops still remaining from post election violence one and a half years ago

Laura kissing a giraffe

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Kitale

Birunda

After a good night’s sleep the volunteers awoke in their mud built colonial house and enjoyed a

filling breakfast of fresh fruit, toast and eggs, whilst watching the multicoloured and plentiful birds

out of the window. Approaching Birunda Primary school the group got their first proper glimpse of

Mount Elgon, which dominates the skyline. This was quite a spectacular sight for most, but nothing

compared to the warm welcome of 1750 school pupils and 40 staff who would be welcoming them

to the school. Gathered on the parade ground they began their regular programme; singing, prayer,

raising the flag, national anthem and pledge of allegiance. Then it was the groups turn to greet the

children, what a feeling, an overwhelming feeling felt by all. Even the children were as excited as

previously there had only being a couple of volunteers at the school, never this many. Following the

introductions to the mass of smiling faces we proceeded around each classroom greeting them

individually and telling them which of the volunteers would be teaching them. It had been arranged

that each class would have two lessons given by the volunteers.

From this moment I could see a worry and a little fear from some of the group at the thought of

teaching these eager children. It was also at this point I had to begin to remind myself that these

students had not been here before, like I had, and so were not used to the situation which faced

them. Remembering back to my very first time greeting this amount of children I felt their

trepidation about what lay ahead. This fact of remembering that every experience was new for these

people was something I had to continually remind myself. Some things which were questioned or

shied away from seemed strange to me, but I did exactly that myself. You have to be cautious and

curious with all new experiences and that is what each of them was doing.

The next few weeks the group spent most of their time working

within Birunda School with the main primary school and the

unit for the hearing impaired. It was wonderful to see how the

confidence of all of the volunteers grew as they became used

to their classes and became more used to the language barrier.

Language became less of a problem as the pupils English had a

Sylvester, head teacher of Birunda

Some of the 1750 pupils standing during parade. A clouded Mount Elgon looms in the background

First time at the school for the group

Sorting through the donations at the school

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marked improvement from the lessons which the volunteers

were giving. P.E became the subject which would make the

group stay in the memories of the Birunda pupils for years.

Normally the school would do little in the form of P.E due to

lack of knowledge from the teachers as how to use limited

equipment available. This was changed as the group, as I had

done previously, had brought with them a multitude of

sports equipment and so were able to conduct larger group

lessons of up to 80 pupils. Also the group came with the

ability to teach the teachers new games and activities which

would mean all of the pupils could enjoy active lessons in

future. This for me was a great feeling of achievement as I

had really hoped the group would be welcomed and make a

lasting difference at the school.

As well as achieving this, the funds which the students had

raised previous to coming to Kenya had been enough to

build two new additional classrooms for the unit, which

were constructed before their visit so they would be able to

see what a difference they had made to the school as a

whole. It had been my plan for the group to assist in building

work, however this did not work out as well as I had hoped.

It was planned that they would assist in putting up the

guttering and water tank stand assisting the school in their

water catchment. Unfortunately a combination of

miscommunication, lack of skilled labour and the need for

the local builders to not accept help meant very few of the

group had the opportunity to construct. This unfortunate lack

of completing one of my aims was rectified in one way with

the group initiating a plan to paint the gable end of some of

the classrooms with an accurate world map. A great

response of gratitude from staff and pupils alike was

received as the map progressed to its finishing point. It will

provide a large visual aid for entire classes or even year

groups to learn from in one session without having to rely on

an inadequate number of atlases.

Over the three weeks in school the group worked both

individually and as a team to achieve the goals set. They

were more than prepared to become involved with all

aspects of school life at Birunda and became great Kenyan

teachers in their own right. From assisting to chop up fire

wood to arranging football matches and marking vast

amounts of pupils school books. They each became

Jon taking a P.E lesson

The group assessing what their donation has built

Rosie pointing to Kenya during the early stages of the world map

Teachers and volunteers working to finish the world map

Sylvester and the group in front of the finished map

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accepted wholeheartedly by everyone involved in the

school, especially the pupils whom they taught. The only

aspect of Kenyan teaching which they didn’t get involved in

was the corporal punishment, which is given out to

misbehaving children. All of the volunteers experienced

unruly children in their class and it was difficult for them to

accept that some behaviour would be treated with a

caning. I knew that seeing some of their pupils being

physically harmed hurt the volunteers on the rare occasion

that it happened.

Originally the group had felt that 14 half hour lessons per

week would be fairly easy and no big deal as it would give

lots of time for resting, planning and marking. However the

reality was different as the group found. Waking up at six

or half past each morning with an aim to get to school, a

twenty minute drive away, before eight o’clock and not

returning until four or later took its toll on the group. The

altitude of 2000m and the heat of the sun which seemed to have banished

the expected rains also made things harder than expected. Still whatever

the school or climate through at them, they all worked together to achieve

what they set out to and learn from the events.

During the three weeks of volunteering I was unexpectedly called to one of

my other roles, which is to try and help local children when they need

medical attention. This case was three brothers, of a boy whom I had

previously helped, all three of the boys aged 2, 4 and 8 were infested with

jiggers, malnourished and one also had malaria. They were in a very bad

condition and their mother couldn’t care less about them and also didn’t

work, so had no money to pay for the care, which they so desperately

needed to save their lives. The hospital treatment and being with the boys

through all their ordeal took up a great deal of time, meaning I spent little

time at the school leaving the group to it. All of the group came to the

hospital at various times to see the children and see firsthand what a local

missionary Kenyan hospital was like.

When speaking to the teachers at the school after a few absent days they

informed me how great the volunteers were and how much they were

learning about the way the education system and Kenya as a whole

works. Seeing how the volunteers had managed to work under their own

initiative after such a short time in Kenya made me see that future groups

may need less day to day support. I could not have been more pleased

with the way the group had been working in the school and how they

were welcomed and greeted by everyone they met. Without doubt they

Amy teaching in a mud classroom

Becky with her English class

Steph giving a knitted teddy to a new born baby at hospital

Checking the lesson timetable

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had experienced a true representation of how life would be

working as a Kenyan teacher.

The teaching work within the unit for hearing impaired, which

is the main focus of Kitale Rafiki, was limited due to the

communication barrier. However each of the group went to

assist during lessons and all learnt some basic Kenyan Sign

Language. Along with deaf and hearing impaired children the

school also has a small number of children with severe

learning difficulties, and this was a further area that the

group did a great deal of good work. It’s difficult not to get a

soft spot for the children in the unit as a whole, but in

particular the joy and welcoming nature of the children with

the learning difficulties drew the group in. With the unit

being a new venture the local volunteer teaching staff are

not fully aware of development techniques to help pupils,

which is where the English trainee teachers came in to

advise. Soon they were working with the children producing

their own folder which included, name, number chart,

alphabet and other educational tools. Straight away you

could see how much change was made in the children.

Normally they would be left in traditional Kenyan culture

and even before the unit was built it was the case here. The

biggest achievement was the one to one tuition with a

young speechless boy, whom through repetitive activities

and mouth movements started to be able to speak basic

words. From then on it was difficult to wipe the smile off the

boy’s face each time he saw the group who helped him so

much.

Since the group had arrived, I had several children being

brought to my attention with ring worm, a common and

contagious problem in the area. I decided to see how many

pupils needed treatment so the group could assist in

applying the cream and instructing the children with help

from the teachers. It turned out that the condition had

spread through nearly four hundred pupils! Off I went into

town to buy the medicine, cotton wool and gloves to treat

all of the children that had been brought to my attention. If

we could achieve this it would make a true difference to a

huge amount of children in the school and be a very hands

Some of the group with Razak the speechless boy

Ringworm treatment

The groups last meal at Birunda

Teachers saying their farewells

Pupils sing and play musical instruments

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on activity and a memorable one. In town at the pharmacy

I was told that the amount I needed would be in within the

next couple of days. Bearing in mind, this request was put

in on the fifth day of the three weeks in Kitale and also

remembering that Kenyan time is always a lot slower I

wasn’t surprised to get a phone call on the last day at the

school from the pharmacy saying the medicine was ready

to collect! Rushing around and preparing a classroom we

were able to get the job done. The queues of children

stretched out of the door and the production line of

volunteers worked for a couple of hours to complete the

job. Total number of children treated was 378.

To complete their time in the school it had been arranged

for a big party and celebration to take place. The cooks

and teachers had been working tirelessly to put together

a huge feast of many traditional dishes to thank the

volunteers for their work. After a filling and satisfying

meal we proceeded outside to near the newly built

classrooms, to be rewarded for the time volunteering with a wonderful music and dance session

from the children, where they used the musical instruments which had been bought in Nairobi.

Tears began to flow as the staff said their farewells and each of the group were presented with a

card and small gift. I knew that after a week I’d be returning but still the emotion got to me due to

the proud feeling I had from what a great job the group had done here at Birunda.

St Vincent Home for the Physically Disabled

Further from teaching at Birunda the group regularly visited St Vincent to meet, greet, play and help

the children and the house mother there. I have a special spot for the home and especially the house

mother who works 24/7 on her own looking after nineteen disabled children. The project is well

funded and due to other commitments the best work which I felt the group could do was just to visit

and assist doing small things such as cooking meals. The volunteers ran a couple of art sessions and

also chose to divert some resources, that would have gone to Birunda to the home, as they would be

of greater use to them. This was again a sign of how successful the group were as they were making

balanced decisions as to where resources should go.

Deaf children sign sing a song

Holly accepting her hand painted card and necklace

Sarah, Steph and Holly at the home Rosie playing a drum with Collin's

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Street Children Day

This day was a huge shock for everyone, myself

included. Normally these days with the street children of

Kitale happen without any incident, as there are enough

members of the Church to volunteer. This occasion

numbers were limited and the street children numbered

over a hundred. Still we all worked as hard as we could

to ensure every child had a wash, hot meal, medical

treatment if needed and clothes if available. There are

usually clothes for everyone who comes along to the day

but a shortage of funds meant that we could only use the

clothes remaining from last month’s day, which was 90%

for smaller boys. This meant the older, surprisingly well

built, young men who have lived on the street for years

didn’t get their regular shirt or trouser and so decided to

try and steal. For all involved it was a very uncertain

situation for a very short time the feeling throughout

was one of not being safe. Quickly though Mrs Kiere, the

local organiser and I, dispersed the older troublesome

men and we were left with the thankful young women

and children who really needed our help that day. If

taking a group to work with these children again, I would

ensure that there were a greater number of local

volunteers to ensure that any older children are kept

inline. It is a very worthwhile day’s work and will

definitely be one of the days that will stay in the groups

mind for a very long time.

Free Travel

During the free days, which the group had, they chose to travel to a few places around the Kitale

region. I accompanied them on all the trips except to Mount Elgon due to a bad foot. The group

travelled to Webuye Falls, Kakamega Rainforest, Mount Elgon, Marich Pass, Pokot and Lake Baringo.

All of the trips showed a very different element of Kenya and helped to further break up the

stereotype of Kenya been a hot dry place. Not many people realise how lush and green some of the

areas can be and even fewer people know that there is a small portion of rainforest still clinging on

from its former giant self. The Pokot visit was to show a representation of how a traditional tribe

would live, however the destination we were aiming for was cut off by a flash flood and so we

stopped at a research centre where although they learnt a lot it wasn’t the same traditional stay as I

had hoped for.

Street children gathering for the day

Lunch time, maize and beans, maybe their only meal for a few days

Music and prayers before the end of the day

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Back to Nairobi and Safari

Sad farewells and a lot of packing and repacking on the groups last night in Kitale and then an early

start to get on the road back to Nairobi. George the same man who brought us to Kitale came and

assisted us to pack the vehicle with all of the luggage. Amazingly, there was nearly the same amount

of bags as there was on the way, even after leaving all the donations behind! All on board we drove

through Kitale for the last time and then on the road to Nairobi. The journey seemed faster; maybe

due to all the local travel which had been done we had all become used to the roads and distances.

Back at Nairobi the group could rest and prepare for the safari in the morning when they would be

visiting Nakuru and Amboseli national park and hopefully witnessing the big five and more. Rather

than resting before another long and existing day tomorrow the group decided to take in a little

Western luxury at the cinema. An early morning getaway to Nakuru to see how lucky the group

would be in spotting the wild animals of Kenya. From the outset the view of the lake and the clear

skies were great for viewing the wildlife and soon enough everywhere you looked exotic birds and

mammals were in plain sight. Buffalo was the first of the big five, closely followed by rhino a great

start for the three day safari. Nakuru would be the best chance to see leopard and I was really

hoping that this would be the case as in my previous three safari’s I had not seen one or a cheetah

either. Their luck was in and a leopard was spotted running up a tree. That was the last we saw of it

even with over half an hour sitting and waiting for it to reappear.

Amboseli was a long way from Nakuru but was a guaranteed place for elephant and amazing views

of Kilimanjaro. Sure enough with the clouds rolled back, the view of the highest mountain in Africa

was spectacular. Due to the lack of rainfall the once large green land around the Amboseli lake was

drying up meaning most of the animals were concentrated around one spot. Elephants were seen in

all directions each trying to find their massive amount of food needed to survive. Scavenger numbers

had increased since I had last visited the park taking advantage of the increasing number of the

dead. The final one of the big five came on the last morning when a male lion was seen basking in

the early morning sun. A successful and enjoyable safari complete, the volunteers headed back for

Nairobi and their last full day in Kenya before departure.

Group in safari vehicle Clear view of Kilimanjaro Mountain

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Farewell to the Student Group and Welcome Final Three

As the ibis birds woke the group on the morning of their last full day I was already underway to the

airport to welcome and greet three more volunteers with a difference. These volunteers came with

the same donation money, but with more time focussed on travel, with some days volunteering at

Birunda.

The students spent the day revisiting some of their favourite places in Nairobi and doing any last

minute souvenir shopping before coming back to the Wildebeest Camp for a restful evening and a

farewell barbecue. It had been a very busy and sometimes stressful four weeks with the group,

although that was in the back of my mind as we celebrated, laughed and talked about their time

volunteering in Kenya. It had been such a successful trip and enjoyed by all, each of them taking a

specific memory and all that they had learnt back with them to the UK.

With the morning came the goodbyes to the eight fantastic

volunteers who had helped to make my first experience of

leading a group an enjoyable, if not a little challenging at

times. I would be sure to do the same thing again as soon

as I could. Leaving the group at the check in desk I headed

back to the Wildebeest, but was kept updated until the

moment they boarded the plane of where they were. I

knew that the trip would stay with the students for a long

time and have a great impact on their lives and how they

would teach in the future.

This was the end of the main part of my group leader role

where most of the grant money was aimed towards. The

second element needed much less leadership and more in

the form of planning as the group of three were looking

more to see and experience Kenya rather than complete

weeks in the classroom. I didn’t mind this as it still meant

that the school would be benefiting from the funds they

were bringing and the three would be taking away

what they had aimed to do.

Katey in the bamboo forest of Mount Elgon

Sam feeding a giraffe

Kitale Rafiki

16

As the group required less of me I shall

summarise what they took part in. The three

quickly settled into Kitale life and were allowed a

more relaxed approach to the scheme of Kenya as

requested. Just like the larger group did before

them they worked in Birunda, Small Home and

had a lesser encounter with the street children.

This was combined with travel to all the

additional destinations the first group had been

able to see. Following their ten days in and around

the Kitale area the three travellers headed from

one side of the country to the other finishing up at

the coast for a three day safari and sometime

relaxing on the beach. The decision was made

after this to travel back over to Kitale for their final

week, where they spent a little more time at the

school helping to sort out the resources, which

had been collected over the past two years and

cataloguing them. Seeing a need for some rat

proof storage one of the group paid for two metal

cabinets. The four week stay with this group was a

complete contrast to the first, but gave me an idea

of how it would be organising for a group of

volunteers and then taking a step back upon their

arrival. Both experiences were of interest and I feel

a combination of the two would ensure a good well

rounded volunteer experience in the future.

For me during the times when I wasn’t travelling and accompanying the smaller team I was working

at the school to ensure that everything was set up and arranged so that they would be able to carry

on the work set up by the group. I was unsure when I would be returning to Kenya and so wanted

everything to be in place in case of any problems that may arise or hopefully for when other

volunteers came to the school. After eight weeks arranging, planning and organising I was ready, but

reluctant, to travel home and begin advertising and planning next year’s adventures.

Richard in the deaf unit at Birunda

Katey, Sam and Richard with Sylvester and his wife

The two steel cabinets paid for by the group

Kitale Rafiki

17

The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust has helped all the volunteers and myself to grow as people of

the world and has allowed us all to experience some truly amazing and exiting things. The student

group will return with the knowledge and skills of a Kenyan teacher and will be able to build this

knowledge into their future classroom work in the UK. The travelling group will return after having

seen so many different contrasting elements that Kenya has to offer as well as experiencing what it

is like to work with various Kenyan children. Their ability to look upon the world in a different way

and appreciate what they have in comparison to others has all been made possible by the grant from

the trust which allowed me to follow my dream of leading a group to explore and live in the country

which is so close to my heart. I shall be sure to build upon all my experiences from these two

individual trips and take what I have learnt to help me create an even better experience in the

future.

Me with some of the boys whom I have helped in hospital this year and brought them back to full health

WINSTON CHURCHILL MEMORIAL TRUST