Volunteering In Kenya Trip Is Fast Approaching!
August 21, 2008 5:33 pm Africa Trip
Virginia Duffy is Heading To Africa
I am am excited to tell you that I will be heading for Africa for 3 months to do volunteer work with children. This has been a long-term dream of combining my love of volunteer work with my desire to see this wonder continent and all its glory. As my grandchildren are growing up, I am also excited to spend some time with children. I will spend my 3 months in two different areas, with different projects. . My first 6 weeks will be at the orphanage Children of the Rising Sun, located in Malinda, which is in the Coast province of Kenya. Malinda is a beautiful area with white beaches and palm trees. It is a major tourist town with various historical sites.
Children of the Rising Sun is a children’s home that caters to the community within the area. Within the premises there is a kindergarten and a primary school for the children in the orphanage and also the neighboring community. The community surrounding the orphanage has the culture of marrying off their girl children at a tender age not paying much attention to education and enlightenment for them. The home helps take care of some of this children thus doing child rescue to enable these mothers to go to school. The home has approximately 70 children who stay within the premises and 900 who go to the kindergarten and primary school in the compound. The languages spoken are English and Swahili.
For my second six weeks I will be moving to west Kenya to work with Community Watch and Rescue Team (COWART) This is a youth run community based organization founded in 2006 by a group of focused youths who saw the need for a change in their community.
The major activities of COWART are:
- To promote health
- Youth leadership development
- Disaster preparedness and response
- Running environmental programs
- Youth employment programs
In promoting health the youths carry out
- HIV prevention programs which include organizing forums and meetings to disseminate among the community especially the youths information about the disease and also carrying out the same programs in schools where students are educated on the whole topic.
- Dissemination of information on malaria control and prevention which include Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS), assisting in distribution of mosquito nets especially to pregnant mothers and children below 5 years. The organization is also involved in sensitizing the community on the control measures and the treatment of malaria.
On youth leadership development
-There is a youth Parliament that create a forum to the youths where they discuss socio economic and political issues.
-The youths are involved in challenging tasks as part of the training through overnight hiking and camping expeditions, solitude, Rock climbing and Rope course.
Disaster Preparedness and response
- Offering first Aid services and training to the community.
- Training in rescue operations during disasters.
Environmental Programs
- Streams restoration- cutting the water consuming Eucalyptus planted along the riverbanks and replacing them with the indigenous trees and shrubs.
- Soil erosion control, organizing clean up exercises within the towns and man- made forests of native trees and shrubs.
Youth employment
- Carrying out training in entrepreneurship, business and financial management.
- Running community based income-generating activities solely run by the youths from the community.
- Holding forums where youths are taught on career choices, interview tips and CV writing skills.
One of the great achievement cowart has had so far is that over 3000 youths from the community have undergone HIV testing and counseling.
The organization covers the three districts of Kericho, Londiani and Bureti of the Rift valley province. I will be working in Kericho.
I am very excited and making plans to leave, as there is so much to do! While in Africa I also intend to go on a Safari and visit the famous archeological site where Richard Leakey found many specimens of early humans. I will continue to blog about my trip and other things. However as I need to go to a nearby town to have internet access this will be less often. I am planning on blogging once a week. If I can figure out how to do it, I plan to put video of me and the kids on the blog. Watch for more and send me good vibes.
Virginia Duffy
