Kenya Medical and Teaching Programme
Kenya's population is hugely affected by the struggles of HIV/AIDS, poverty and unemployment. It is known to be one of the poorest countries in Africa. There are countless possibilities to impact the lives of those that are affected by these problems, such as in the Nairobi slums, surrounding orphanages, schools, and hospitals.
Project Location: Situated on the equator on Africa's east coast, Kenya offers beautiful landscapes, amazing wildlife, with an ethnic diversity that has produced a vibrant culture. Nairobi, Kenya's capital is the country's principal economic, administrative, and cultural centre and is one of the largest and fastest growing cities in Africa. Just 30km north of bustling Nairobi, amidst the beautiful tea plantations of the Kenyan highlands, you will find Limuru, a community operating at a much slower pace of life than the nearby capital. You will be spending your time as a volunteer in both Nairobi and Limuru, which will give you a diverse experience of life in Kenya.
Project Age Limit: Minimum 18 years, maximum decided on potential participants' health.
Project Highlights: Gain medical experience under the supervision of qualified doctors and nurses at Kikuyu General Hospital - please note this is only applicable to those due to study or currently studying medicine or qualified in a medical field suited to the Hospitals needs and requirements. Assist in various orphanages in Limuru, by helping with improving or enhancing the actual facilities as well as becoming involved in teaching and caring for the children Get a glimpse of life in the slums of Nairobi and have the opportunity to make a difference in a poor and desperate community Get a taste of the Kenyan culture; learn a bit of Swahili! Make friends for life A great platform to experience some of the finest safari destinations on the continent
Project Travel Highlights: These are not included in your volunteering fee, but our project managers are able to assist you with making the necessary booking arrangements. See further details on Safari options in our pre-departure information.
Safari Options Kenya offers a variety of safari options, not far from its bustling capital, Nairobi, perfect for a weekend 'get-away'. Our office in Kenya is able to put together a number of different 3-4 day safaris into the Masai Mara National Reserve, Amboseli National Park and Aberdare National Park, as well as trips to the Kenyan Coast, Nairobi's Elephant and Giraffe Sanctuaries, and much more! These options are all inclusive: transport, transfers, full-board accommodation, services of driver/guide, park entry fees are all included. Tailor-made trips can also be designed upon discussion with our Kenyan office. * These prices are merely indicators and almost always there are special offers available. Safari Itinerary Example: The Masai Mara Most visitors to Kenya make time to experience the Masai Mara National Reserve, the northern extension of the Serengeti. Well known for the renowned migration of 1.4 million wildebeest (usually between July and November), the Masai Mara is famous for its prolific game-viewing and abundance of predators all-year round, and boasts the country's highest wildlife density. Spend your days exploring the beautiful surroundings and searching for those unforgettable wildlife encounters. The Mara experience is a must and will never disappoint.
Kenya's roads in general are not in very good condition. These can make for sometimes long and somewhat uncomfortable traveling days by road. Many people prefer to fly into some destinations such as the Masai Mara.
Fly-in Option
Low Season: USD 780 per person
High Season: USD 840 per person
Drive-in Option
Camping: USD 345 per person
Lodge: USD 600 per person
Further Information on the Medical and Community Programme:
Kenya's health care and provision suffers as much as any other public service sector in the country. Whilst structures are in place for an effective health service, there is an enormous deficit in terms of staff and resources. Which is why the volunteers' help is very much appreciated by the nurses and doctors we work with.
As a volunteer, you will spend two days of the week in the Nairobi slums involved in our community support programme. The rest of your time as a volunteer will be split up between Kikuyu Hospital, and orphanages/day care centres in Limuru, the beautiful hilly area just outside Nairobi where we are based. This will give you the chance to make a positive impact on the health service in Nairobi, to gain unique medical experience, and to make a profound difference in the lives of the surrounding community. Both qualified and non-qualified volunteers can join this project. Your medical background will determine your placement at the Hospital. If you have no medical background at all, you will be placed at one of the Orphanages on the mornings dedicated to Hospital work; other than this, the volunteer duties and work will be the same.
Kikuyu Hospital
This is a large general hospital that offers medical care to the community regardless of whether they can afford their treatment or not. The hospital is therefore buzzing with patients, and doctors attend to around 350 patients a day.
As the hospital has so many patients, volunteers are needed to organize patients into relevant queues, and help in creating a system that will free the doctors to attend to the patients' needs instead of trying to maintain order.
This hospital is particularly well-known for its specialized eye unit. Volunteers would have the opportunity to observe eye-specialists performing eye surgeries and learn from experienced medical doctors.
Furthermore, volunteers would be able to observe health professionals in the maternity and orthopaedic wards and assist them when needed. For example, you may be asked to help with the weighing of babies or with recording results of eye-tests.
Kikuyu Hospital also has an outreach programme, in which health professionals and volunteers go into rural areas to give the much needed medical care to communities that do not have accessible health care facilities. There are a host of opportunities to gain medical experience, learning from health professionals, and step in wherever needed to decrease their unbearable work-load.
Orphanages in Limuru
There are over a million orphans in Kenya mainly due to AIDS, of which only 5 % get any kind of support. There is a huge need for assisting orphanages and children's homes. There are several orphanages in Limuru that we are involved with. These children come from backgrounds that have been affected by HIV/AIDS, abuse, poverty or illness. These children are in need of love and attention. Many of them are developmentally delayed and need extra attention in order to promote their development. The children's ages range mainly between 4 and 10 years. The orphanages offer opportunities to become involved in: Helping with the teaching of the children, and general care such as cooking for the children's meals or organising sports and play activities to promote the well being of the children. Building/improving the facilities to make it feel more like home for the children: by painting pictures on the walls etc. Some of the orphanages we partner with are building to expand and improve their facilities. Your pair of hands will be greatly appreciated in this practical work. The kids are very energetic and will gladly challenge you to a game of basketball or soccer. You will have a chance to make a huge impact on these children's lives by spending time with them, and contributing to their learning and development.
Mukuru Slums Clinic and Community Support, Nairobi
Every year Kenya loses a lot of people due to HIV/AIDS related illnesses and even more to water-borne diseases. 85% of these deaths occur in the slum areas. This is due to unemployment and poor housing and drainage systems.
Slums in Kenya are shanty houses built using torn cartons, recycled wood or even worn out iron sheets. The houses are single rooms of about 2 square metres. Each room houses a family. The slums are heavily populated with a single pit latrine serving over 20 families. Those who stay in these slums are generally unemployed.
Challenged by the problem of the increase in child mortality and the decline in maternal health and coupled with the alarming rate of HIV/AIDS-related complications, a local clinic has been created with the goal of playing a part in helping to provide health solutions to a slum population of around 62 000 people.
Volunteers would have the opportunity of helping this local clinic situated on the outskirts of these slums. The clinic provides services such as maternal & child health care, family health care, curative health care, primary health care, voluntary counselling and testing, training in health and HIV/AIDS awareness.
Volunteers are needed to help with the administration, as well as working hand-in-hand with the nurses or visiting doctor. Volunteers will also have the opportunity to be involved in home-based care for those patients that are unable to visit the clinic.
Other volunteer work would be involved in helping teachers in surrounding schools, assisting at orphanages and getting involved in the feeding program.
For those who are brave at heart, there is the massive task of helping to clear drains, which are the main source of water-borne diseases and malaria. This is not for the faint-hearted... but it is an irreplaceable opportunity to make a large impact on the quality of life and well-being of the community, and perhaps even opening doors to involve community members in preserving and looking after their own environment.
This placement is not a walk in the park, but will give you the 'real' African experience in an area desperate for help. It is likely your time spent in Mukuru will never be forgotten.
Project Typical Day: Here is how a typical day in the life of a Limuru volunteer might take shape. Please note that your itineraries may differ from this, depending on your own experience/interests and the number of other volunteers on the placement at the same time.
This is merely to give an example:
Monday, Wednesday & Friday
7:00 Get up and start getting ready for your project
7:30 Breakfast at Brackenhurst (your volunteer base in Limuru)
8:00 Head off on the short drive to your project
8:30 Start work at your allocated placement - Kikuyu hospital or Limuru orphanage.
12:30 Lunch break. You will be picked up from your project, and taken to your volunteer house, where lunch is waiting for you. Alternatively, you may spend your lunch time at your placement (e.g. Kikuyu Hospital).
14:00 Return to your placement or your allocated ward
17:00 - Home Time You will be collected by your coordinator/driver and taken back to the volunteer cottage at Brackenhurst. Here you will be able to check your emails, watch TV, socialise or just relax and unwind in the beautiful gardens of Brackenhurst
Evenings are very sociable affairs. Generally, volunteers discuss their days amongst each other whilst having supper together, prepare for your project the next day. Enjoy sundowners overlooking the Rift Valley - amazing viewpoints are only 20 minutes drive away...
Tuesday & Thursday
7:30 Have a sleep in as you prepare for Nairobi's traffic! Get up and start getting ready for your project
8:00 Breakfast
8:30 Leave for the slums - this is quite a long drive (+-1.30hr), but Nairobi traffic is an experience of a lifetime!!
8:30 - 13:30 Help in the local clinic, schools and become involved in the home-based care
13:30 - 14:30 Break for a local lunch
14:30 Pick up
Afternoons Stop off at a shopping centre on the way home, where you can do your banking and shopping etc. Evenings as above
Project Cost:
| GBP (£) | USD ($) | |
| 1 month placement | 1195 | 2390 |
Project Cost Includes:
Project Cost Excludes:
Project Orientation: Upon your arrival in Nairobi you will be met by an African Impact representative, who will escort you to your new 'home'. Once you have settled in, you will be briefed on the itinerary of the orientation program. You will receive a detailed Welcome Pack, which will contain all the important information you may need.
You will be orientated to the area that you will be living in, as well as be shown the areas that you will be volunteering in. In the next few days, you will visit the project sites and be introduced to the relevant project and volunteer coordinators that you will be working closely with.
You will receive relevant information about common diseases & illnesses that you will probably come into contact with (e.g. HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria etc.)
Project Support: Throughout your stay at your placement you will have the support and guidance of experienced field-workers and coordinators. They are part of our greater African Impact support team, and will provide you with competent 24-hour field support and assistance.
Project Accommodation:
You will be staying at the Brackenhurst Baptist International Centre, where 2 x 2-bedroomed cottages are kept for our volunteers. Brackenhurst provides secure accommodation with everything that you will need. Internet and phone services are readily available.
You will be sharing a room with other volunteers (maximum of four in one room). Your room is fully furnished. A cook will be provided to cook for you in the kitchen of one of the cottages. Included are laundry and house keeping services on a daily basis. One of the cottages also provides a lounge area with a fireplace and satellite TV, which will be a wonderful social area for all volunteers.
Brackenhurst has beautiful grounds that are perfect for having an afternoon nap in the sun, playing sports, such as ultimate Frisbee or soccer, or going for a jog. On a clear day, you will be able to see Mount Kilimanjaro in the one direction and Mount Kenya in the other.
Please Note: Brackenhurst is a Christian conference centre that forms part of the greater Limuru community. In this culture, drinking alcohol is seen as 'taboo' by the local Christian community. There is therefore no alcohol allowed on the premises of Brackenhurst. However, 20 minutes drive away is a lovely restaurant where you can have a couple of drinks in the evenings.
Project Meals: You will be provided with three meals a day. Breakfast is on a help-yourself basis and usually consists of cereals/porridge, toast, tea and coffee. Lunch and dinner are full meals, and will be provided for you. Lunches may also be packed or may be local lunches at your placement.
Project Getting There: Fly direct to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, where you will be met by one of our experienced African Impact team. International flight routings include direct from London or via Johannesburg in South Africa or Harare in Zimbabwe.
Denise Aeberhard, Age 34 from Switzerland:
"The experience was very impressive and has opened my eyes in many ways which I did not expect. I experienced Africa before by travelling, but now I got to know another side of Africa - probably the more realistic side of Africa - and I am still fascinated about this continent with its people, animals and nature. I definitely will come back."
Priya Banerjee, Age 33 from the UK:
"I had a really wonderful time in Limuru; it was a truly eye-opening and unforgettable experience. Tesni and all the team are doing an excellent job and looked after me really well! I was very moved and inspired be able to visit and spend time on some of the amazing local initiatives to help people who are living such tragic lives"
Sara Weintraub, Age 20 from USA:
"I loved the work, I loved going out with my friends on the weekend, and I love the people that I've met and the friends that I have made"
Ben Stuwart, Age 19 from the UK:
"I feel that this program is such a marvelous and fulfilling experience. I recommend it to anyone and I know that I will be returning at some point."
Zoe Cartwright, Age 24 from the UK:
"My experience in Kenya far exceeded my expectations. I didn't expect to be given the opportunity to really see things the way I did. I felt that the doctors at the hospitals were very open minded and willing for the volunteers to learn as much as they could by observing operations and allowing us to help hands on. I feel that I have seen a lot of things I would never have had the opportunity to see otherwise."
Jenny Leech, Age 27 from the UK:
"The program is great and very hands on. You do feel that you get immersed in the lives of the people you work with and build strong relationships therefore enabling you to feel like you are making a difference. I have had a brilliant experience and have gained a renewed optimism for life having seen what some people a lot less fortunate than me are happy with."
Ciara Middleton, Age 18 from the UK:
"I have had the most Amazing experience! Something that I would never have been able to do without this project! I have met so many amazing people and in my opinion the project fullfils everything it set out to do. I have had very few complaints about the project and hope to return to it in the future."