Kenya

I volunteered trough ELI for 4 months an I am very happy with my experience.
First of all it was the only affordable program that I found, their prices are the best, and after meeting volunteers that came with other organizations, I can say that you get pretty much the same benefits for less than half the price.
From the very first moment I felt supported. I arrived to Kenya two days after the fire in the airport; my flight was delayed and then I had to wait for my luggage (that didn't showed up but a week after my arrival), I was very worried that nobody would be waiting for me because I wasn't sure that the program coordinator was getting my e-mails, but they were there, which was a great relief.
I went to Nakuru a day after and felt very welcomed by Rosemary (house-mom and program coordinator) and other volunteers. The house is beautiful, and has all the facilities volunteers can need. It was kept clean at all times, the rooms are well furnished, as well as the bathrooms and kitchen. There was a TV and DVD in the living room for volunteers to watch movies and hangout.

The project I worked at was Gabriel Learning Center in the Kaptembwa slum, which is the biggest slum in Nakuru. My responsibilities were of all kinds, from being in the classroom with the children, to sorting beans for their meals. I also got to go to the new building site and help in the construction process, which I really wanted to do because I am an architect, so I was very thankful that they made that happen.

With a 4 months stay I also got to travel a lot around Kenya and East Africa. Rosemary organized some safaris and helped me and other volunteers to plan our trips. I cannot thank her enough for organizing safaris and bus rides for friends and family that came to visit. That was very nice of her, without her help they wouldn't have make it!!

I just want to thank ELI for having such a great and affordable volunteer abroad program, to Rosemary for being so helpful and taking care of me, and to Gabriel's for welcoming me into their family and making these 4 months and unforgettable experience!!

I volunteered on the Quest Overseas Summer Kenya Water Relief Project in 2012 and had, quite simply, the best time of my life.

My Quest group were amazing and I am still in contact with many of them to this day!

Not only did I contribute towards this positive, sustainable development project (under the supervision of the experienced engineers from the Africa Sand Dam Foundation), but I also hopped across to Tanzania and climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in the final week of my travels with Quest.

The support by the Quest staff both before departure and upon my return was personal and they came across as honestly caring about the projects they support and the volunteers they send away.

I cannot recommend this company strongly enough. Anybody looking to spend a summer experiencing a completely different culture and environment, responsibly, should give Quest Overseas serious consideration.

This my second time volunteering through Rustic Volunteer Travel. Rustic allowed me to cater my project to my skills and training in capacity building, health management, strategic planning. I was able to work with the coordinator on impactful development projects in Kenya (Kibera Slums, Ngong-Living Positive Kenya, and Watama-Gede Hospital). The projects themselves were very successful and were able to make direct impact with the communities. Areas of improvement can be the logistical planning; however the Country Coordinator, Jimmy Wambua, is new and has a great passion for making a quality difference. I think with more support and as he gets more experience and ground support as well as financial support from the US organization, he will be able to strengthen the program to be more effective. In overall, the experience was challenging and yet rewarding simultaneously. I was highly impressed with the Kibera Slums projects as the CBO's are highly motivated and dedicated to their community. They just need a little support in training and encouragement. I also enjoyed my experience in Ngong and working with Mary. Mary was a fantastic support and has dedicated her life to the work helping women with HIV and AIDs reassimilate into their communities through sustainable economic and healthcare opportunities.

Will always cherish this experience!

I went to Nairobi, Kenya in October 2012 with Volunteering Solutions and lived in a house with volunteers from Advance Africa.
The people who were responsible for us, the woman we lived with and our country coordinator were really distanced and not interested. They never asked how we were, how we felt, how our day was. When I first got there I was a little homesick and all the housemom had to say, was that she couldnt understand how I decided to go abroud if I was that weak.
So instead of making it easier the organization made the beginning harder and it made us really angry and we felt disappointed that there was no way to build a relationship. We were hoping to have an easier start with locals to show us around and to help us deals with all the new impressions and so on but like I said, there was really no communication. The housemom seemed so unhappy with what she was doing and instead of giving you an impression of being a welcome guest she makes you feel bad for being there.
I payed for a stay of 4 months but when I got there I knew I couldnt be spending christmas and new years in that house. I got to know really nice people who were linving there with me and I knew that by the time they were leaving I would also be leaving that place. So we decided to make the best of our two months we had together, we enjoyed Kenya a lot and we had each other to share the disappointments with the organization. We never figured out where all our money went, obviously not into the food we were eating and obviously not to the orphanages.
After the two months I moved to a host family and worked in an different orphanage who I had contact to through people from Germany which was really a nice experience. I got to see how welcoming Kenyans can be and how interesting it is to share the different stories from the different cultures.
What I want to say in the end is that volunteering solutions or advance africa in kenya are really not the best organizations to go with because youll never know where your money goes and you wont be absolutely comfortable because the people who will be responsible for making your stay comfortable really are the opposite of warming and caring but the organization is safe and if you see it as if you were renting a room and arent there to be supported than youll be fine. Maybe youll be lucky and youll get to know volunteers that are nice and youll work in a wonderful orphanage.

I volunteered for Nakuru Hope for 8 weeks and it was one of the best experiences of my life. It has been nearly two years since my visit, and I still think about this life-changing experience every day. Working at Gabriel's Learning Centre was fulfilling and exciting, I loved assisting in teaching the pre-primary students, playing games with the children, and singing and dancing with them. It was eye-opening to participate in home visitations of the people of Kaptembwa (one of the largest slums in Kenya). Helping the families directly by purchasing food for the week or purchasing various other items in which they needed was extremely impactful. It was fantastic to see the donations given used so quickly and directly towards the cause. In addition, I enjoyed working on projects such as building a latrine and cleaning out the home of a man afflicted with AIDS. As a 19-year old who had never traveled overseas in my life, Kenya was a perfect place to go. Kenyans are so warm-hearted, welcoming and friendly. I felt safe living with Rosemary. She was helpful at accommodating outings such as visiting lake Nakuru and participating in the Masai Mara safari. I can't say enough about Susan Saleeba (the founder of the organization). I lived with Susan for 3 weeks, which was an experience in itself. She has such a beautiful spirit. I have never met a woman as giving as herself who is so dedicated to her job. Christopher, the operations director of Gabriel's matches Susan with his hard work, kindness and patience. This entire experience gave me such an appreciation for life, and I will definitely return in the future.

I spent 3 weeks volunteering with Nakuru Hope over the last summer. I had always wanted to volunteer in Kenya, but was cautious about choosing an organization, as there seemed to be a lot of negative reviews out there! After reading the reviews on this website for Nakuru Hope, I got in contact with Susan, and since then I've found the process of volunteering an absolute breeze (especially compared to some of the horror stories you find out there on the internet!)
I spent 3 weeks teaching at a small school, playing with the kids, and visiting the families of the students in the slums of Kaptembwa. Everyone involved in the organization was friendly, helpful, and genuinely passionate about helping raise the community out of poverty. Although it was difficult to see the terrible conditions that people endure in the slum, it was a pleasure to work with an organization that squeezes the most value out of the resources it has.
My time in Kenya exceeded my expectations, and I would strongly recommend Nakuru Hope to anyone interested in volunteering overseas.

Simply the best 3 weeks of my life.
Jambo! My name is Patrick, im a 4th year medical student in England. Let me tell you I’ve been on a lot of wards, tended a lot of patients but I realise that up until now I had never made a real difference to someone’s life.
I worked with a team of approachable young doctors in the small costal town called Malindi in Kenya. The Doctors are all really approachable and they made me feel like part of the team. I got to see a hugely diverse range of medical issues from the unfortunately common road traffic accident to tropical illnesses not seen normally in the West.
As well as the exceptional medical side of the project I also made some great friends, the hospital staff are a really friendly bunch and going out for a drink in the evening after a long day stitching wounds was really chilled and a nice way to unwind.
On the weekends we relaxed at the beaches and soaked up the Kenyan atmosphere. It was simply an incredible experience and one I will remember for the rest of my Life.

Kwaheri!!!

Besides getting to play with the children and work alongside the orphanage staff everyday, my favorite memory occurred when I was on a Matatu on the way to Thika with one of the orphanage workers. I was practicing my numbers in Kikuyu, the tribal language, trying to say the cost of the ride. Three older women in the back row were so excited that I was learning their language they started to talk to me. With some help, I was able to speak with them. Before they got off they said that I was their son and invited us to their homes.
Bring small gifts for people that you meet. Oftentimes Kenyans will give gifts, although they have very little. It is great to have something to give back. I brought matchbox cars for small children and I also recommend bringing something that represents your home country (like stickers or small flags…etc)
I started the process very late and without Sarah’s help I would not have been able to volunteer this summer, so I am very grateful. The workers at the orphanage were some of the most amazing people I have ever met in my life.

Myself and two other girls decided that we wanted to go to Kenya to volunteer. After much research and reviewing we chose Global Crossroads as the company we would use. Being our first time doing anything like this we had many,many questions. From day one our questions were answered. In my opinion their ground coordinator is the best asset this company has. From the night we landed in the Airport in Nairobi we were greeted by a friendly smiling face. For the entire time of our stay in Kenya the ground coordinator took care of any requests/questions we had. He was absolutely Amazing. He is the main reason i would recommend global crossroads to anyone, any concerns we had were immediately addressed.

Although the accommodation arrangements we had been told previously had changed due to a different employee ending work with global, this was out of their control. Other arrangements were made and we stayed at the orphanage we volunteered in. Global Crossroads arranged for us to volunteer at the imani Orphanages. I'm glad they did. From the day we stepped out of the vehicle with our bags we were treated as family.I Wish i could have stayed longer. 2 weeks was just not enough. We spent time at 2 different Imani orphanages,1 week in Malindi and 1 week in Nairobi. Both places we felt extremely welcomed and most workers spoke well English which was good for us. At the end of our volunteer experience we had a 3 day safari that was included in our program fee. Absolutely Amazing. Overall the trip was the experience of a lifetime and i plan to return.

Overall i would recommend global crossroads to anyone and kenya is such an amazing country to visit. The people & culture are astounding.

On July 2012 my perspective of life changed completely. I was completely blinded about the conditions most people live in. When I signed up to go to Mombasa, Kenya with GVI I knew it would be an experience of a lifetime, but never in a million years did I imagine it would be a life changing experience. As soon as I landed in Mombasa, GVI made me feel as part of the family, and it just got better from there. Every moment was so special in its own way, from meeting the volunteers to teaching my first lesson. It was a big reality check but it also made me realize how little one needs to be happy. My first day teaching gave me goose bumps, I had 40 kids to teach and names to learn, but just realizing how eager every single kid was to learn made me want to try harder and harder. Not a day went by of the two months I was there that I did not want to get up to go teach. I saw the brightest smiles that will stay with me forever, I heard the most contagious and euphoric laughs I have ever heard, and I met the most grateful people I believe I ever will. After two moths of the best experience of my life I knew I wanted to go back soon it was just a matter of finding the right time. Less than one year later they asked me to go back as a staff member, so on May 2013 I got the chance to go back to Mombasa for 9 weeks. I just came back 4 days ago and I still cannot wrap my head around the amazing experiences I had. Each and every day was so unique and full of life in its very own way that there was no chance of having an “ordinary” day. Hopefully I will have the chance to go back in the near future because not only is it fulfilling and life changing, but it really is impressive noticing the improvement one can make over a short period of time.