Helping to Fight Poverty in Kenya

Placement number: 0171
Location:   Kenya
Preferred Languages: English
Date:  All Year
Minimum Period:  1 month 

As you might be aware, Kenya has gone through a traumatic
experience with the post election violence that rocked the country. World
Corps Kenya has used a theme for Peace and Reconstruction to set up camps
to facilitate healing as well unity for  the affected persons but more so
give volunteers a chance to learn and be a part of this noble gesture by
helping to reconstruct homes, schools and other amenities for affected
communities, that were destroyed during clashes. Peace has now resumed and
all energies are geared toward healing and peace building  process. March 2008.

There is an organised programme to rebuild homes, schools and  villages with many different projects.  Please click here to see a schedule.   Volunteers urgently need to man these projects.

Ther are 4 other medium to long term projects that need skilled volunteers.  Please click on the relevant place for more details:

1.  Setting up an Ecolodge and Training Staff .  Qualifications: Knowlege of Eco-lodges and good communicator.  Minimum of 3 months required. Click here for more details

2. Ngurumani  Farmers Society    To assist farmers in ways of improved crop production.  Knowledge of crop production and preservation needed plus a 3 month minimum commitment.
Click here for more details

3. Fundraising.  To assist the Grants Manager to develop new and existing programmes. Experience in corporate fundraiding required and a 1 months minimum commitment. Click here for more details.

4.  Community Development   To help the remote community of Wogonyi realise its hidden potential.  Some experience of community development disirable. Minimum of 1 month. Click here for more details

Ours is a Long and Medium Term Volunteer (LMTV) project. This is where we provide volunteers from across the world with an opportunity to work with community based organization (CBOs) and NGO, whose focus is on issues that address poverty, youth, gender empowerment as well as other development issues. We get these volunteer placements from the network of organizations that we interact with in our other projects. Most of these need skills in certain areas but they are unable to hire someone due to financial restraints or the skills and simply not readily available. This is where we require a professional volunteer, someone with the skills needed by the organization. There is also a non professional volunteer opportunity where we have volunteers willing to offer any help to the organization outside of their profession. These provide an opportunity for volunteering especially to the students who may be willing to volunteer but don't have specific skills.

A volunteer period is from 1 month to 2 years period depending on the availability of the participant and the level of need of each organization. Normally volunteers are hosted in the community by a family( host family) or in rare situations arrangements are made for those who may wish to rent their own house.

Role of Volunteer

The volunteer is attached and assigned roles to the organization for the period agreed between the two parties ie volunteer and host organization. There is usually a contact person in the organization who works with the volunteer. Attachments for volunteers could include teaching, conservation, help with construction, community development and many other projects. The projects are always changing!

Cost

The volunteer pay a registration fee of US$100
This is to cater for -administration costs
-Pick up from the airport
- Accommodation before travel to the volunteer site
- Transport to the volunteer site.

US300 per month to cover for the food and accommodation for the whole month in a host family.

Travel