Kenya

I volunteered in Nakuru for 3 months on the teaching program. Have been home for 2 weeks and I miss the country sooooo much! The children, the people, the other volunteers and the experiences I will never forget. If you are considering volunteering in Kenya, all I will say is just do it. An amazing country and amazing people.

I did not like Nairobi so I stayed away from there (I was placed in Nakuru). Nairobi had too many people, too many hassles and given some of the recent incidents, I think it is best to avoid the city.

The program itself was great. You do need to show initiative and be willing to work hard. Nothing happens quickly in Kenya so you need to learn to be patient. Coming back to New York after Kenya is a real shock! The local staff were great and did everything to make us happy. Highlights were KCC visits, outreach weekend, safari, every day at school with my kids and trips with other volunteers. Cannot complain at price. Once I save enough money I will be back to Africa again!

My trip to Kenya was one of the most humbling experiences up until this point in my life. I left with the hope that I could make a difference in the life of at least one child. After I returned, I realized that Kenya had given me more than I could have ever asked. My stay in Kenya lasted only for five weeks, but I learned so much it seemed like longer. My first week there was spent with the coordinators learning about the culture, the city, and most crucial, the language. After the first week of orientation, I felt confident enough to get around on my own. I was set up with a host family to live with during my stay. The family I stayed with was very warm and welcoming. The minute I arrived I was offered fresh juice, Passion fruit, Pineapple ! (The fruit was definitely a highlight of my experience.) Incidentally the niece of the woman I was staying with was around the same age. Her and I made a special connection. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to stay with this family. They were so very warm. Although I would have to say that I experienced this warmth with most of the people I encountered in Kenya. It seemed to be a way of life. My journey was filled smiles… unexpected, considering my project details. My project was working with children that lived in poverty stricken communities.
My objectives were to teach English to the children as well as assisting with other various activities. I was warned before my departure to Kenya of the possibility that I would encounter situations that may be difficult to deal with. This was due to the poor conditions many of the children were coming from… but I found the children allowed me no time to focus on the negative. My first introduction with the children was filled with hugs and kisses. On the faces of all of the children were the brightest and most sincere smiles I have ever witnessed. They were so excited to have someone from a different place there to see them. As I learned more about the conditions of some of the children I became more impressed with their strength and fortitude. Regardless of the hardships that they had to deal with once they left the school, they always managed to keep a smile. Granted they are children, and maybe one can say they do not know any better, but they taught me so much about humility and happiness. I grew a strong admiration for these children. I made many new friends in Kenya. I was extremely fortunate to have met the people that I did. They were very eager to share their culture with me. With the help of my host family and the information given to me by the project coordinator, I was able to really experience the essence of the culture. On the weekends I traveled to the Watamu beach. The Kenyan people reminded me about the importance of unconditional happiness with the sincerity of their smiles. This was true from the time the coordinator picked me up at the airport, till my new friends waved good-bye at my departure. Thank you global crossroad

I have been involved with a number of different projects through the Global Volunteer Network. I have done fundraising climbs, attended their 'Be the Change' program, worked with many of their partnering organizations and visited their offices in New Zealand. I cannot speak for every one of their partnering organizations, but I can speak for the ones I have visited, and for the overall dealings I have had with the GVN team in varying countries. To start with the latter, I have always found them to be supportive, informative, professional and experienced in the areas that they operate. They have a huge network and in regards to their partners, I found that they work with projects that they can effectively support and with individuals in each country that have experience. I found that they partner with organizations that show sound practices, or that they believe they can offer real benefit to. I cannot speak to the experiences that other people have had, I can only speak from my personal experiences, but a few points I would note is that I have always found GVN to be fully transparent. They discuss their practices in their programs and their reasons why, I have always felt I know exactly what is happening, and that is very important. Another point worth mentioning is about support and information before and during the program involvement. I have found this to be such a huge strength of GVN. I have dealt with them for over 4 years now, and their overall attention to emails, skype calls, phone calls, offered before, during and after volunteering and fundraising has always been so impressive for me. I also think it is important to keep in mind that volunteering experiences can vary greatly depending on the program, the country, the role, and the volunteer's expectations before starting. Some programs on the ground will need more and different types of support. The dynamics of NPOs or NGOs in general are also extremely multifaceted. The GVN has done amazing work and made major achievements internationally. I have seen the results of many of these efforts, and I have been able to achieve so much personally for organizations in various countries, with the support and help of GVN and their experienced staff.

I have volunteered with GVN (Global Volunteer Network) for six different years. I usually volunteer for 2-3 months and have requested and gotten the most remote places. There is so much to like about GVN. I'm 70 and since I choose remote areas I do need to know that someone has my back and GVN has always been there for me. I feel secure with the placings they give me. I was looking for a volunteer organization that would allow me to do my thing and not hold my hand. GVN has allowed that to happen. I wanted a program where I was really needed and I have found it six different times. I've lived and volunteered on a very small (very remote) island called Cu La Cham in Vietnam where I taught English with one other volunteer. We were the first on the island ever to do this. I've lived in orphanages, small villages (mostly remote). I've volunteered teaching English on Cu La Cham, Vietnam, teaching HIV-AIDS Prevention to the Maasai in Kenya, teaching English and math at an orphanage as well as feeding the homeless in Ethiopia, helped organize a non-profit in Uganda by making/typing up contract, taught the Peace Cell Project as well as assisted in a pre-school in Ghana and now I'm on my way to the Philippines to work a mangrove project for three months.

I have found GVN to be reasonable with their cost, supportive when needed and easy to make contact with. I highly recommend GVN as a place to contact when you are looking to volunteer somewhere in this world. They have a host of projects and many different countries you can work in.

Thanks for Global Crossroad and Kenya team for the hard work you guys put into making my experience in Kenya. My experience is very enjoyable and memorable one. I truly appreciate the wonderful hospitality and kindness Beatrice family and Florence showed me.

I will never forget Kenya and the wonderful memories i had there. I feel that i will be drawn to Kenya again in the future and when that time comes.

Thanks again everyone, i had a terrific time in Kenya.

I am a reporter and I was in Kenya in July shooting a pilot for a TV show I\\\'m pitching to networks. I had permission from the owner of the company to film so my videographer and I signed up with Rustic Volunteer and Travel with the expectations that this organization was going to be amazing. However, it was anything but.

When we arrived in Nairobi, nobody was there to pick up us. We were stranded for hours and to make things worse, I was never given the contact info for the program manager even though I asked for it several times. My emails were never returned which was frustrating.

A man at the airport saw me in distress and gave me his phone to call the owner and he said he thought we were coming in on a different day. So finally we were picked up.

My first night at the program manager\\\'s house, I was attacked by her dog and had to go to the ER. The owner of Rustic never apologized, but he did send over a release form for me to sign stating he wanted complete control of my footage which was never discussed before. He only wanted it because the program was starting to look really awful.

So my videographer and I left the organization and the program manager said we could stay with her and pay her directly. So we did. We later find out horrible things about her as well which was disappointing because I adored her a first.

Apparently her and her husband have certain drivers that only volunteers are supposed to use and they told us it\\\'s for safety reasons, but really it\\\'s because they have a deal worked out with them. They over charge us and then split the profits with them. We know this because her husband was overheard on the phone telling one of his friends this.

In addition, their kids go through our luggage and steal things because they are resentful volunteers stay in their room. We didn\\\'t know this when we first arrived, but the kids are kicked out of their room and sleep in the living room when volunteers come.

I have everything documented on camera and you can check it out at www.iamthevoluntourist.com

And BTW I\\\'\\\'m NOT posing as other people and writing negative reviews. I have no problems writing bad feedback under my own name. I\\\'m appalled Rustic would make such accusations.

Volunteering with Rustic Volunteer and Travel was an outstanding and rewarding experience. I enjoyed volunteering at my placement at Wakibe Community Project very much in which I contributed my skills in all sorts of activities (soccer, feeding, planning future land and member extension) whether it involved the kids or adults who were members of the HIV/AIDS project. The staff was very friendly as well as my host family that Rustic Volunteer Program sent me to. They helped me settle in and get accommodated to different ways of life which I never would I have seen if I had not found out about Rustic!
Surprisingly, it took only one day to get used to the public transportation, the matatus, and it was fairly simple to find my way around the fun city of Nairobi where I visited various Masai markets and other tourist attractions.
Rustic Volunteer Program took great care of me; I was definitely safe in their hands. I highly recommend Rustic Volunteer Program to anyone who has an open mind and wants to see the world in a different light with the passion of helping others. The amount I learned and the things I saw were priceless; I can’t wait to go to Africa again one day!

My Experience in Kenya

When I decided to come to Kenya simply because i was trying to satisfy my passion for travelling in a manner that could become a component to my future résumé. My life has afforded me with many travelling opportunities, but what I experienced with my program went well beyond my expectations and is incomparable to my past experiences. I was deposited in an extremely rural village-- the kind without electricity or running water, dirt floors and firewood stoves that you know about in theory but do not really understand practically-- and learned to call it home.

I came as a volunteer in a primary school, having never taught before and was slightly horrified upon arrival. The day I made it to my village, I was brought to the school and greeted by the students. The next day I observed the other teachers, was given copies of the students' math and English books and was expected to start teaching the following day. Well, as I said, I was terrified but took a deep breath and hoped for the best. The students are incredibly well-behaved and I feel they would have shown me respect even if I had shown up in my underwear. The teachers seemed to have total faith in me and never sat in on one of my classes. I had no idea what I was doing, had exactly zero feedback and was responsible for the actual education of real flesh and blood children.

Needless to say, I felt completely lost that first week. I had no idea what the students thought of me, if they were learning anything from me and felt awful for experimenting with this whole teacher thing when their education was on the line. But, I did not give up hope and by the second week I started to form a routine and learn my pupils' names, which helped a lot. Around this time my host mom told me that the students really did like me and I had noticed some of them playing their version of capture the flag, which I had taught them during PE. These two things boosted my confidence which helped me to relax and I started to have fun in class. By the third week I had completely let go of the idea that I was expected to work magic, had become very attached to my students, had befriended the teachers and visited a few and was dreading the day when I would have to leave. By my fourth and final week I had figured out that everything I was teaching from the book had already been taught, did my own thing and had a blast. Then the dreaded day arrived and I had to leave just as I was starting to get ingenious ideas for things I would like to do in the classroom. The unquestioning attitude of the teachers and students that I know what I was doing was a great driving force and, although I would not consider myself a qualified teacher, I learned an incredible amount from my month in the classroom. I truly came to love my students and will miss them greatly. But, I will miss my family even more.

When I first got to my house I was shocked by the dirt floors, my tiny room and was afraid that I would have serious communication problems with my mom. But, I soon learned that she spoke much more English than I originally thought and that any problems we might have were smoothed over by her genuine compassion. I was also surprised to find that after a couple days I no longer noticed the dirt floors and was completely used to not having electricity or running water. It makes sense though; that was the way my family was used to living. It was normal to them and they made it work flawlessly, so it became normal to me. My youngest brother was obviously very excited to have me there but was incredibly shy. Both the older of my two brothers and my dad made me realize how little I know about my country with millions of questions about what kind of crops we grow, how farms are operated, what the cost of land is, the exact workings of the government and on and on. My brother was also very keen on telling me everything about Kenya and I was impressed with how much he knew about his country.

On my first day, my family did not let me do any work. But, I was determined to become a component of the family and not just a stranger staying in their home, so insisted on helping out. For the first couple weeks I felt greatly under-estimated. No one seemed to have any expectations of me. So, minor feats such as making it back from school alone, shelling peas and learning greetings, were greatly impressive. I started to get very annoyed with the fact that every time I asked to help out my mom would ask, "Are you sure you will make it?" But I always said that I would try. After a while she got used to the idea that I wanted to help and was not totally useless and would not hesitate to give me chores. I had become a part of the family!

Finding where I fit into the family machine and fabric of the school and village were not particularly hard for me but I had some trouble getting used to the intense Christianity of the place. I am not a particularly religious person so going to church and praying before every single meal was a little strange. Whenever someone found out that I did not go to church back home they were totally shocked and two men made it their mission to save me.that I was not at all prepared for and it was most definitely the most challenging part of the entire trip.

On my third weekend I took my brothers to Mombassa, on the coast. At first I did not realize exactly how special this would be. But, many people in the area have never even been to Nairobi and most, including my parents, have never been to Mombassa. The boys had never been swimming or seen the ocean. It was absolutely magical playing in the water with my youngest brother and I will always remember the way he laughed and clutched my hand as we were plummeted by the small waves.

My parents told me that the boys will always remember me because of that trip and I hope they do. I can never forget them. My last morning there was incredibly sad. As I said, I truly felt I had become a part of the family and now I was being torn away, it just was not fair. I think we all cried during breakfast, even my dad had tears in his eyes. I promised I would come back and next time I will have to stay longer than a month. I now have a Kenyan family who I love and who loves me, I don't know what could be more special than that.

Thank you every body for this wonderful time

GK, Kenya

The volunteering programme involved a 10 day construction project and a 4 day safari across West and East Tsavo National Park in Kenya. For the 10 day construction project we lived in a small community called Kassani Lepolosi which was a mixture of Masai and Kamba tribes people - all of who were amazingly welcoming and genuinly lovely. We worked along side them, helping to build a 15x33ft construction which they will then use to store and preserve animal skins and hides (goats/cows) in,which they will then sell on. This provides them with a sustainable income and also means they don't have to resort back to poaching from the nearby national parks. This made visiting the parks after the volanteering project more meaningful as we could see the breathtaking animals we were helping to protect. Whilst on the construction part of the project all the volunteers and leaders (7 volunteers and 2 leaders) lived in a big mud hut were we also cooked our meals, which we ate outside by the camp fire with some of the community. Members of the community took it in turns to stay outside the hut all night to look out for animals.. not that there was any threat. I fealt completely safe throughout the whole experience. The trip was very good value for money. It cost £895 for the trip which included food, accomodation (including the three beautiful lodges we stayed in for the safari), and transport for the whole trip. to break up rhw construction work we also had a few day trips out, including to the famouse Lake Challa and a naighbouring community were GVI was also working. Obviosly the price it didn't include the flight, but it did include airport transfers and they were very helpful in finding us a hotel to stay in when we were staying an extra night which wasn't covered by the programme. They also offered us lots of support on the lead up to going, including advice on what to take and were to stay if you needed extra accomodation. When we originally showed interest in the project we received emails and a few phone calls in whcih we spoke to past volunteers telling us about what they did and what to expect. Overall the trip was an unforgetable and life changing experience where I made some amazing new friends from all over the world as well as from the community we lived in. I only wish i could have stayed longer, it's a very highly recommended trip!

My husband and I went to Kenya for 2 weeks and had one of the best times of our lives. We volunteered at the Orphans Center for about 10 days and spent 4 days in Masai Mara. It was a life changing and humbling experience for me to work with the orphans because I realized how much we take things for granted in the US. It was heartbreaking to see how many of them lost their parents through HIV. Although currently they may not much, they are very intelligent and motivated to learn and have dreams and aspirations of becoming pilots, doctors and engineers. We love the kids we worked with. I taught math and accounting, cooked and went around the neighborhood fetching water with the kids, since the orphanage itself does not have water supply. We also played games with them.

It was our first time to Kenya and I had some concerns with safety before we went. But we never felt unsafe there since our host family, the students we worked with, or the other teachers always accompanied us wherever we went. Kenyans are really friendly and they always took time out to talk with us. Living with the host family really made a difference in our experience in Kenya by allowing us to understand their way of life, their culture, history, economy, views about the world, struggles and dreams. Our host family was really hospitable and treated us extremely well. They provided for us and went out of their way to make sure we lived comfortably. We felt like a part of the family and after a while we started calling them mom and dad. They are also interested in our culture and for one of the dinners we taught them how to make Chinese fried rice.

My husband and I both love animals. Going to Masai Mara was like a dream come true. We saw all kinds of animals: elephants, lions, giraffes, leopards, zebras, hippos, wildebeest. It was wonderful observing the animals in their natural habitat. We saw the annual wildebeest migration, and at one point we saw a leopard feasting on an antelope that it had dragged up into a tree. It was like in Animal Planet, but live! We also spent time with the Masai people understanding their culture. One of the Masai people shared his experience from a lion hunt and showed us his scar from struggling with the lion.

Kenya is a beautiful country. I wish more people would go and experience what the country has to offer. I would definitely go back again.