Community Service to improve life for the needy
Coordinator | Kingsley
Coordinator | Kingsley
Book with Flex Option!
Choose new departure dates or change to a different volunteer program at no extra costs.
Highlights
You will have opportunity to experience the true African way of life, which will expand your perspective of the world, and memories that you'll never forget during your weekend excursions & safaris
The programs are many and suitable for volunteers from the age of 14 years and above, High School & University Students, Professionals, Couples & Families with their children, and Adults of 50+ years
After the completion of your online/ Onsite volunteer offer, UCESCO will write you a good and official recommendation letter and Certificate of appreciation/Recognition for your time and service to us
Our project site is truly an exciting place to be, a place where you can really make a difference. UCESCO - Kenya has a 100% safety record & we try to maintain it as Kenyans are friendly by nature.
Orientation of activities is done every Monday to understand all other programs we have in case you are flexible & interested to help other programs/activities. Opportunity to rotate to other program
If you’re a people person, your help is crucial to support some programs we are doing for the community to encourage cultural interchange and community development.
This volunteer program is especially suitable for:
Age 14+
Singles
Couples
Families
Groups
50+
We are inviting volunteers interested in community service programs we are doing in Kenyan Slums & villages to apply and join us, and support some programs we are doing for the
community to encourage cultural interchange and community development. some activities you will be involved in include;
- Running a donation drive
- Walk kids home from school
- Take and donate photos during community events
- River and local green space clean up
- Make quilts or blankets for kids in our clinics
- Put together first aid kits for local shelters
- Make birthday cards for kids, and a community newsletter.
- Help in Community outreach by volunteering at Children’s Day
- Working on Elementary School Garden that provides food to the food bank
- Helping clean and set up a new addition planting trees and shrubs, landscaping, and cleaning
- Cleaning and prepping used books for gifts to children
- Recycling and collecting donations for Goodwill, Gathering donations for the baby Boutique
- Removing and replacing old raised garden beds at a housing facility for homeless and disabled adults
Get to know local communities while doing something meaningful. If you love working with people, engaging in social and community development work is perfect for you!
Typical day
1. Volunteer task
We anticipate that;
- You want to contribute, and
- As a person you are calm, embracing, and with no judgment
- You are passionate about making a difference to the target group or individual.
2. Your induction and orientation
On your first day, you will receive a comprehensive induction to your new town. A staff member will take you on a tour of the surrounding area, and point out places that might be useful to you. You will also be taken to buy a local sim card or exchange money if you need to. We value innovative ideas to make us serve others better hence we always encourage our volunteers to have creative ideas for serving the community better apart from assigning you our usual operations.
Orientation of activities is done every Monday to understand all other programs we have in case you are flexible and interested to help other programs/activities. When you rotate to other programs you get more exposure and be more impactful to many needy beneficiaries. For example, you can be a Nail Art and Beauty teacher from France, you can at the same time, help in teaching your language if you are good in life skills you can share with our high school students, if you are good in sports you can teach some sports you know, if you are good in mathematics you can teach at our school if you have the medical background you can volunteers some of your free time at our clinics. I recommend volunteers who are flexible to help in other areas if the program you have applied to is not that busy during your time in Kenya. Africa will be more fun and enjoyable and you can learn more than you expected. We also as an Organization plan for any Safari that is meaningful and pocket friendly as we want the tours to be friendly as well as touch the life of a needed person, that's why we opt for tour companies that we have a contract with so they subsidize the cost
3. Daily program/ Timetable
Volunteer work is during the morning hours every day, and in the afternoon, we have free activities such as sports, Kenya traditional dance classes, traditional cooking classes, and sports for those volunteers interested to learn, however, it's an optional offer depending on the number of volunteers interested to learn But mostly volunteers finish their volunteer work at 3:30 pm and go home direct to rest and prepare for the following days' activities. Weekends are made for exploring our country and Safaris ( Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for any safari outside Nairobi City like Masai Mara, Samburu, they need at least 2 nights and 3 days to have enough experience). Safaris within Nairobi city or nearby can be explored for one day or two ( Saturday and Sunday). The organization is aware and more than happy to give you enough time to explore Kenya too because you are here to help at the same time make sure you experience Africa's lifestyle and culture. We will always give you time for that.
A typical days schedule will look like this with or without minor adjustments;
- 8:30 am - We serve a delicious and healthy breakfast
- 9:00 am - 13:30 pm - Volunteer work as described above.
- 14:00pm to 18:00pm - Free time activities mentioned above (Optional)
- 3:30 pm - Break and prepare back home to rest
- 8:00 pm - Dinner is served
4. Climate and Weather
Like much of the rest of the world, Kenya's weather can vary widely. However, some obvious climatic patterns can tell you what to expect. There are two rainy seasons in Nairobi. The major rainy season generally falls between mid-march and the end of May. The minor rainy season generally falls between the beginning of November and the end of December. During these periods, you will see a fair amount of rain, especially in the evening and during the night.
July and August we usually rain-free, although they can be quite chilly, especially at night. Temperatures are fairly consistent throughout the year-around 20' C during the day and chilly in the evenings.
January and February are usually the hottest months.
It is safest to plan for the hot sun as well as pouring rain, whatever the month, a raincoat is necessary, as is sun cream. Remember that the sun is stronger on the equator
Free-time activities
Official languages are Swahili and English
- Common swahili words
- Hello: jambo/ hujambo/ salama.
- How are you?: habari gani.
- Fine (response): nzuri.
- Goodbye: kwa heri/ kwa herini (more than one peson)
- See you later: tutaonana.
- Nice to meet you: nafurahi kukuona.
- Goodnight: lala salama.
Wildlife
Kenya has a considerable land area devoted to wildlife habitats, including the Masai Mara, where blue wildebeest and other bovids participate in large-scale annual migration.
More than one million wildebeest and 200,000 zebras participate in the migration across the Mara River.
The “Big five” game animals of Africa, that is the lion, leopard, buffalo, rhinoceros, and elephants, can be found in Kenya and in the Masai Mara and Samburu in particular.
A significant population of other wild animals, reptiles, and birds can be found in the national parks and game reserves in the country. The annual animal migration occurs between June and September, with millions of animals taking part, attracting valuable foreign tourism.
Two million wildebeests migrate a distance of 2,900 kilometers (1,802 mi) from the Serengeti in neighboring Tanzania to the Masai Mara in Kenya, in a constant clockwise fashion, searching for food and water supplies. This Serengeti Migration of the wildebeest is listed among the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa.
Things to note throughout your stay in Kenya.
Nice places to visit in Kenya
- Samburu
- Fourteen falls
- Maasai village
- Kibera and Mathare slum
- Nairobi national museum and snake park
- Nairobi national park
- David sheldrick wildlife
- Bomas of kenya / Karen Blixen
- Kazuri beads factory and Giraffe centre
- Mt kenya
- Kiambethu tea farm in Limuru
- Tsavo national park
- Elephant hill hiking
- Amboseli national park
- Coffee farm tour
- Nairobi safari walk
- Maasai mara park
- Zip lining at Kereita
Climbing
Concert/
Music
Music
Diving/
Snorkling
Snorkling
Hiking
Museum/
Opera
Opera
Riding
Safari/
Zoo
Zoo
Shopping/
Souvenirs
Souvenirs
Sightseeing
Sports
Swimming
Water Sports
Yoga/
Meditation
Meditation
Requirements
In order to join the program you need to be at least 14 years old on the program start date.
You need to speak English (basic level)
Passport and any form of identification
No restrictions. Helping hands from all over the world are welcome.
• a social mindset
• a good work ethic
• the ability to work as part of a team
• great communication skills
• adaptability to different types of tasks
• problem-solving ability
• initiative
• enthusiasm
• resilience
• a non-judgmental approach and respect for diversity
• great cultural awareness
• a professional attitude to work
• strong regard for health and safety
• eagerness to travel
• dedication
• a good work ethic
• the ability to work as part of a team
• great communication skills
• adaptability to different types of tasks
• problem-solving ability
• initiative
• enthusiasm
• resilience
• a non-judgmental approach and respect for diversity
• great cultural awareness
• a professional attitude to work
• strong regard for health and safety
• eagerness to travel
• dedication
Your helping hand will be required on
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
from
09:30
- 15:30
What's Included
In Summary, the fee includes:
- Accommodation
- Airport Pick up/Transfer
- Program Orientation
- In-country support
- Personalized project
- Pre-departure information
- Certificate of completion
- Breakfast and Dinner
Not included in the fee:
- Drop off (we can organize for you with an extra $ 20 from your accommodation to the Airport)
- Laundry
- Local SIM card you need to purchase
- Tour / Safaris
- Volunteer T-shirt
- Visas
- Airfare
- Personal expenses on soft drinks and foods
- Daily transportation
- Airport return transfer
UCESCO-Kenya a staff member will be there to welcome you when you arrive at Nairobi Airport (NBO). From the airport, you will travel in our private car to your host family. Depending on traffic, this will be a 15 mins drive
- All volunteer houses have running water. Volunteers should not drink tap water – instead, drink only bottled water
- UCESCO- Kenya arranges accommodation for volunteers in a volunteer house or in homestays. Both our homestays and volunteer house are executive, spacious, beautiful, Well finished apartment that is fully furnished with en-suite room features and en-suite bathroom. It's a place you can call home away from home. your stay is guaranteed to be comfortable, and memorable and a comeback is certain. The unit has a furnished living room fitted with armchairs, a flat-screen TV, Free Wifi, and a fully equipped kitchen in case you want to cook your own fast food apart from what we provide. Parking facilities are available and the premises are guarded by security personnel 24/7.
- Both Homestays and volunteers houses are located at lower Kabete road and Westlands, Nairobi, in a serene environment with friendly people, proximity to major Shopping Malls such as Westgate Mall, Sarit Centre Mall, Springs Valley Mall, Ibis Hotel, KFC, GYM, Pizza Inn, Coffe cafes, Supermarkets, and Educational Centers such as the University of Nairobi and Kenya School of Government. Just a short drive from Westlands and is a great choice for volunteers to rest after hard work in the slums. They are also in a Great location…convenient for public transport to the city and many bars and restaurants nearby.
- Housekeeping and laundry are offered weekly.
- Homestay volunteers can accommodate up to 3 volunteers same time, You will be living in a host family house and become a member of that family, which gives you the opportunity to learn their culture, learn a new language, and virtually do everything with them.
Cuisine
Kenyans generally have three meals in a day—breakfast (kiamsha kinywa), lunch (chakula cha mchana), and supper (chakula cha jioni or simply chajio). In between, they have the 10 o'clock tea (chai ya saa nne) and 4 p.m. tea (chai ya saa kumi).
Breakfast is usually tea or porridge with bread, chapati, mahamri, boiled sweet potatoes, or yams.
Githeri is a common lunchtime dish in many households, while Ugali with vegetables, sour milk (mursik), meat, fish, or any other stew is generally eaten by much of the population for lunch or supper.
Regional variations and dishes also exist.
In western Kenya, among the Luo fish is a common dish; among the Kalenjin, who dominate much of the Rift Valley Region, mursik—sour milk—is a common drink.
In cities such as Nairobi, there are fast-food restaurants, including Steers, KFC, and Subway. There are also many fish-and-chips shops.
Cheese is becoming more popular in Kenya, with consumption increasing particularly among the middle class
- We provide 2 meals per day because most of the lunchtime will always find you on the project site. You only need to buy some snacks or affordable food near your project site. Sometimes like in school you can share with the students but might not be good for your stomach because mostly we use Githeri ( Cooked Maize corns and beans together) which I guess might be difficult for your stomach to digest if you are not used to. If you have any special dietary requirements e.g vegetarian or vegan, please let us know so we can make arrangements for you. We will do our best to see that you are well taken care of, but, as a volunteer, there is a need to be flexible so you can adapt easily.
Good access at the project site
Visa, flights, travel insurance or vaccinations are NOT included in the program fees.
The nearest airport is Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) in Nairobi. We assist you to find cheap flights to Kenya.
Going abroad is an adventure and it is always best to be prepared. Sudden illness or injury, cancellation or theft - a travel insurance for Kenya provides security and is a plus to have.
If you are intending to volunteer in Kenya you should seek medical advice before starting your social journey. Check your required vaccinations for Kenya.
Dates & Fees
NO CREDIT CARD FEES
Details on arrival
1. Preparing for the arrival
Volunteering in Kenya through our organization will be an exhilarating, horizon-widening time. You will find new friends and take on new challenges, experiencing a different way of life while you do so. To make the most of this opportunity, it is a good idea to make sure that you are prepared as possible, both physically and mentally.
2. VISAS Requirement for your volunteer
One of the perks of volunteering with us is the visa guidance we give you. We have a dedicated visa team that has up-to-date information on Visa requirements. You can get in touch with us if you have any visa queries, big or small, and we will take you through the process. Once you apply, you'll also get a link, which includes all the necessary visa information.
3. When we need volunteers
Throughout the year.
The exception is a teaching program that is available from January to May, and from July to November each year.
4. Communication
Immediately you arrive, it is reassuring to know you’ll be able to contact home and keep in touch with staff and volunteers during your stay. Here are some tips on communicating in Kenya
Mobile phone- It is a good idea to have a mobile phone with you while you volunteer. They allow you to reassure your family and friends to know that you will be contactable. A local SIM card will usually offer much cheaper local and international rates than your SIM from home. You can buy a local SIM from many shops in Nairobi, and the Kenyan team or another volunteer can tell you where to go. Safaricom is the largest network provider in Kenya. You can buy or rent a handset after you arrive, or alternatively bring one with you. Some smartphones (including iPhones) will not accept SIMs from other companies, so please check before you travel.
Internet - The cheapest way to stay in touch with friends and family is via the internet, email, social networks, and telecom services like Skype. Many volunteers also choose to write a travel blog, and volunteers who fundraise may have promised an email diary for their sponsors. There are two ways to access the internet in Nairobi: on the internet, Wifi in homestays, and cafes, or using a modem stick plugged into your laptop.
Local means of Transport -Matatus are the most common form of public transport in Kenya. After you have been in Kenya for a couple of days and you are starting to feel more confident, you’ll find you want to explore the local area or get to the supermarket or an ATM. You may also need to take public transport to reach your placement project. If this is the case, one of the Kenyan team will accompany you for your first couple of days, until you are happy making the trip without them. Matatus are the most common form, a cross between a minibus and a taxi. They are often “pimped out” with neon lights, TV screens, and speakers, and they are a cheap and entertaining way to travel. Be aware that due to the cramped conditions, there is always a risk of pickpocketing. Avoid taking valuables or large sums of cash on a matatu. For longer journeys, we recommend organizing travel with the Kenyan team, who can arrange for you to be driven to your destination by one personal car/Van
Kindly Note that Commuting to the project site is on a personal account for all volunteers above 18yrs and our local staff from the volunteer house/Homestay by a public transport system which is very easily affordable and uber can also be cost-shared when traveling with more than 3 volunteers, apart from Minors of below 18 yrs who must be accompanied by one of our staff in charge at UCESCO or other adult volunteers staying together.
5. Clothes
There are a couple of things to bear in mind when packing clothes for Kenya. The first is the weather - it can vary quite a lot, so it is best to plan for hot sun and pouring rain. You will need to dress to protect yourself from the sun, but also be prepared for rain. Here is a suggestion of what to bring;
T-shirts
Shorts
Lightweight trousers and tops
Jumper and Jeans for the evenings
Plenty of underwear
Hait for sun
Sports clothing
Trainers or boots
Sandals
Day shoes
6. Packing
Below are some suggestions about what to pack. Everything on these lists is essential or useful
Passport
Yellow Fever vaccination certificate
A sleeping bag and a Mosquito net are important to have, especially when we will be traveling to rural villages or our monthly team-building camping. You can come with it or get it at our local markets.
Travel pillow
Towels
Toiletries and sanitary products. Consider bringing dry shampoo and wet wipes, and hand sanitizer
Anti-malaria tablets- We insist; that volunteers purchase a full course of anti-malarial tablets before departure. Malarone is popular due to minimal side effects, Doxycycline, proguanil, and mefloquine are also alternatives.
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
1 - 28 weeks
Program fees
1 week
(min. stay)
$300
5 weeks
$1,000
6 weeks
$1,160
7 weeks
$1,320
11 weeks
$1,960
19 weeks
$3,240
28 weeks
(max. stay)
$7,350
Average fees
$281
/week
Please note that the above shown program fees are estimated.
UCESCO Africa
will let you know about the final price during your application process.
The deposit is simply to reserve your volunteer placement. Payments are handled by PayPal, our trusted global payment provider. If you don't have a PayPal account, you can also pay using a credit card.
Your final payment will be agreed with UCESCO Africa during the application process. Common solutions are either via bank transfer or a cash payment at the project site.
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What are people saying about Volunteer World?
Community Service to improve life for the needy
If you’re a people person, your help is crucial to support some programs we are doing for the community to encourage cultural interchange and community development.
$281/week
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