Developing World Connections - Volunteering in Kenya

My husband and went with 8 members of my family 5 cousins, 1 Aunt & 2 cousins-in-law to work at Kirinyaga Primary School in the highlands of the country near Mount Kenya, some 6.500 ft above sea level, from 14 to 25 October 2019.

From day one of working at the school we were welcomed by everyone, especially the children. The teachers and Assess Kenya made sure that we were looked after every day, with plenty of work to do.

We worked rebuilding walls and putting in running water for the toilet blocks, putting up facia boards, digging out rain water channels for better drainage around the classrooms. Digging over, fencing, then planting 1,000 plants into a large vegetable garden some 25 x 10 m with the help of the parents. Putting in a foundation for a water tank, painting the girls toilet block doors, as well as decorating a room in the block for girls when they have times of menstrating. The ladies in the group went and gave talks to three schools including Kirinyata, about 'Days for girls'(period days), when normally the girls stay away from school. We were able to hand out some 150 washable kits to girls who had reached puberty, this was very gratifying to see the appreciation on the girls faces. We were all also invited to into the classrooms and talked to the children about our country and way of life, we all found this so gratifying.

During the first week I celebrated my 68 birthday, so in timely manner all the children at the end of the School day, sang to me several songs, some 380 of them, just beautiful. Then on the last day of our 2 week stay at the school, they gave us a farewell, of beautiful Swahili songs.

A lovely end to a very memorable 2 weeks, blessing the Kirinyata Primary School with positive improvements to the school and they in turn blessed us as a family and individuals with their gratitude and love.

May we one day return again, until then may the memories of Kirinyata keep stirring and inspiring us all.

The team leader has a wealth of information and is just as interested in the participants as she is in the projects themselves. DWC is definitely an asset to the global community. Our team consisted of a high school group from various countries and linguistic groups. DWC was able to accommodate all our needs and address all our concerns. And no, I am not exaggerating our experience.