The purpose of the Care and Community project is to provide support to under resourced centers that are providing care to children within poor communities.
If you’re someone who loves working with children and is happy to provide support wherever your assistance is most needed, you will be well suited to this project.
As a volunteer on this project, you will work within in day care centers, nursery schools, children’s homes and kindergartens to assist local staff in the day-to-day running of these centers and ensuring they operate effectively.
Activities vary across the different centers with typical tasks including educational activities and basic teaching of English, Math, Health/Hygiene, Reading and Writing. Other activities include play therapy and games, cleaning, reading stories, dancing, singing, arts and crafts, as well as assisting with feeding and daily chores.
As you will be volunteering alongside our local placement staff, you do not need to have previous childcare experience to participate on this project but high energy levels and a willingness to help out wherever your help is most needed is a must.
First Day: On your first day of volunteering, you will be escorted to your placement by a local coordinator and introduced to the placement staff you will be working with.
Weekdays: Volunteers work for approximately 3 to 5 hours per day. A typical schedule is as follows:
7.00 AM – Breakfast at the volunteer house, prepared by the local cook.
7.30 AM – Volunteers travel to their placements either by taxi or by walking. Start time and daily workload depends on the project that the individual volunteer is participating on.
1.00 PM – Volunteers break for lunch. Volunteers either travel back to the volunteer house or eat a packed lunch at their placement. After lunch, volunteers continue with their volunteer work (where applicable).
3.00 PM - 4.00 PM – Work at the placement usually ends. Volunteers are free to return to the volunteer house, plan for the following day’s activities or use their free time as they wish.
7.00 PM – Dinner at the volunteer house, prepared by a local cook.
Please note, this schedule will vary depending on the particular project the volunteer is participating on.
During the weekends, volunteers have free time to relax or take the opportunity to explore Kitale, wider Kenya and Eastern Africa. Long weekends can be taken to travel further afield (i.e. Mombasa, Uganda or Tanzania), or to embark on a safari. Sunday is a religious day of rest. If you wish, you can accompany your host family to their local church, as a Kenyan church service is a unique and special experience for many volunteers.
Accommodation
The program orientation begins on the 1st and 15th of every month and volunteers need to arrive in Nairobi on the day before orientation in Kitale outside in Nairobi.
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 and project placement in Kitale outside Nairobi. 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 Kitale. 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, 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 without power. Some rural homestays, do not have electricity or running water. 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.
The wide range of Kenyan tribes, ethnicities and cultures are reflected in the diversity of the local cuisine. Volunteers are provided with three meals per day (breakfast, lunch and dinner), which are served at the accommodation.
Breakfast is served around 7am and generally consists of chai (tea), toast, fruit and sometimes mandazi (African donuts). A typical lunch can include vegetables with rice, occasional meat and fruit and is served around 1pm. If you are not returning home from your placement for lunch, you will need to pack your own lunch in the morning. Dinner is usually served around 8pm and usually includes traditional food, such as ugali, chapati, mboga and irio, alongside meat and vegetables. Volunteers on the rural project can expect dinner around 6pm.
Tap water is not safe to drink in Kenya, though bottled water is readily available. Volunteers typically drink around half a gallon, or two liters, per day, which adds up to cost around $5 a week.
If you have any special dietary requirements, please make a note on your application so arrangements can be made. However, it is important that volunteers do not expect to eat as you normally do at home.
Care and Community Support
Help in a community project, working alongside locals and helping counseling and homework for the orphans living in Kitale Kenya
$163/week
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