Building & Construction Worker

The program orientation begins on the 1st and 15th of every month and volunteers need to arrive in Nairobi on the day before orientation.

After you have registered for the program, please book your flights to arrive at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) in Nairobi. Your airport pick-up is included in your Program Fee.

When you arrive, you will be greeted at the airport by a member of the local team and transported to the volunteer accommodation. Your accommodation is covered by your Program Fee and includes the night before your program orientation.

If you are traveling in Kenya prior to your volunteer program, we can arrange for you to be picked up in Nairobi on the day before your program orientation.

Orientation is hosted by our local team in Nairobi. Orientation begins on the morning of your chosen start date and covers everything you need to know for your volunteer program in Kenya – Introduction to Kenya, Kenyan Customs, Language Training Details, Rules and Expectations, Safety, Travel Opportunities in Kenya, Introduction to your project and placement. The orientation will also give you a chance to meet other volunteers and swap contact details for weekend travel and socializing. Once your orientation is complete, you will be transported to your homestay and introduced to your host family.

Volunteers on most projects are accommodated in homestays with local families, who have been​ ​approved by our local ​team in Kenya. Volunteers can expect to share a bedroom​ ​​with two to four other volunteers, comprised of single beds and bunk beds. Bedding is provided.

It is important to note that​ ​there are often power outages and water shortages​, and ​​volunteers need to be prepared to have the occasional bucket shower or​​ ​some time .In these locations you​ ​​can expect to find​ ​squat/pit toilets​.​

Our local team gives your host family a fee for your support, food and board. It is exciting to​ ​stay with a host family, providing you with a​ ​unique opportunity to learn about the​ ​Kenyan way of life, meet local people, try local food, speak the local language and​ ​engage in local customs and traditions​.​​

WiFi can be accessed from local cafes and restaurants within walking distance of most homestays in Kitale & Nairobi.

Volunteers are provided with three meals per day (breakfast, lunch and dinner), prepared by an on-site local cook. If you wish to snack or eat outside of meal times, this will be at your own cost and there are local shops within the villages where you can purchase snacks. Breakfast generally includes tea, eggs, bread and fruit. For lunch and dinner, there is a revolving menu of local dishes, which include typical Kenya  stews (beef, chicken, pork, goat, fish and vegetable), beans, rice, chapatti, groundnuts and vegetables. Starchy foods such as white bread, white rice, pasta, potatoes, sweet potatoes, matoke (boiled green bananas), and cassava are dietary staples. The tropical climate of Uganda also contributes to a healthy choice of seasonal fruits, including bananas, watermelon, papayas, mangos, jackfruit, and pineapples. 

Bottled drinking water is readily available in Kenya and volunteers should budget approximately US$5 per week for this.

If you have any special dietary requirements, please let us know well in advance of your program so our local team can make arrangements for you. We do, however need to stress the point that you should not expect to eat as you normally do at home. We will do our best to see that you are well taken care of, but also as a volunteer, there is a need to be flexible.