The community consists of Kuria speaking ethnic group. The Kuria people are mainly agriculturalists and pastoralist, with the Kenyan Kurians leaning towards agriculture and the Tanzanian Kurians more towards pastoralism. The Kuria are closely related to the Kisii people of Kenya both in language and physique. They are said to have been a one people until a vicious attack by the Maasai in the early 19th century scattered both populations in different directions. This apartness has led to the formation of distinct dialects which are clearly understood by both peoples. The Kuria people are divided into about 16 "sub tribes" The local community used to walk several kilometers before they could access a health facility as a result most of them lost their lives due to this. The area is one of the hard ship areas in Kenya and the dispensary is understaffed hence a load to the doctor in charge who has the responsibility to ensure that all community members are served with quality services. Since the establishment of the institution it has enabled many of the community members to be involved in productive activities thus ensuring that their children are able to attend school due to good health.
Institution initiated by the community members. It serves both the Masaai and Kuria. The local community used to walk several kilometers away before they could access a health facility as a result most of them lost their lives due to this. Since the establishment of the institution it has enabled many of the community members to be involved in productive activities thus ensuring that their children are able to attend school due to good health. The health institution also offers an opportunity where the community members come together to enhance the process of implementation of community development activities and thus champion on a common course that is to improve the living standards of the local community members.
THEME:
PROMOTE GOOD PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTICES The shift from nomadism to pastoralism by the Masaai has brought about new health problems including escalation in sanitation related, infant childhood and water diseases. Access to health care both physically and culturally poses a critical issue for the predominantly rural population. 80% of the community is still dependent on herbal medicine which remains an important source of treatment for particularly the rural folk. Kenya is now developing a health provision strategy to incorporate herbal medicine in its strategy although this is being challenged by health providers. The volunteers will join hands with the community in promoting good health practices through workshops at the health centre and home visits.
WORK:
Volunteers will work for six hours daily from Mondays to Fridays. Volunteers will be involved in awareness campaigns on good health practices, planting trees, cleaning the hospital, talks on prevention measures as well as go for home visits in the local community.
ACCOMMODATION:
Volunteers will be accommodated in classrooms at the school with two separate rooms for male and female. This will be in a workcamp set up where there are no beds and they will sleep on the floor on their mats and sleeping bags to experience complexities of development challenges in rural Kenya. Volunteers with special needs like those who are physically challenged should alert KVDA on application so that efforts are made to accommodate them appropriately.
CAMP FEES:
Volunteers participating in this project will be required to pay Euros 300 for a package of three weeks and this will include Airport Pick Up and drop off after the work camp, one day full board accommodation during the orientation day, fares to the project and back, food, facilitation, certificate of participation and will cater for Administrative costs as well.
KISWAHILI TRAINING PROGRAM {optional} :Kiswahili training program is tailor-made to suit volunteers’ preference and open to individuals keen to have basic knowledge in Kiswahili that is widely spoken in East Africa and nowadays taught in prestigious Universities in the world. The 10-day program is organized in a serene atmosphere in order to quench for thirst among volunteers. Those willing to participate in the program should inform KVDA at least two weeks before arrival. Charges - Euros 200 all inclusive
EDUCATiONAL TOURS:
KVDA Organizes educational tours to spectacular sites of Interest and the fees charged is all inclusive of meals, accommodation and tour guiding. This will be held before or after the work camp and those who wish to participate should make the application at least two weeks before arrival to enable KVDA put its act together. 10% of the income from the Educational Tours is used to support community projects. Due to an increase in the park fees by Kenya Wild Life Service, the following are the charges with effect from 1st January 2011.
3 days tour to Masaai Mara National Park – 350 Euros 4th day tour to Lake Nakuru an extra 150 Euros Nairobi National park (One Day) - 150 Euros Bomas of Kenya - 100 Euros
Capacity Building for community based organizations
Camp Language:
English
THE COMMUNITY:
The community is located along the equator line. It consists of Luhya speaking people. Poverty levels are high due unemployment with high rate of school drop outs due to early pregnancy and drug abuse. Maseno University which is a centre of excellence in training and research around the world is located astride the equator. The inhabitants are agriculturalists and grow maize, beans, groundnuts for food crop.
BACKGROUND OF EPANGA PRIMARY SCHOOL:
Epang’a Primary School is a school situated at Epang‘a village. It is a mixed primary school founded in the early 1920’s by the community leaders and stakeholders led by the late Fanuel Miluya Silunya. In 1948, the church at Kima Mission took over the sponsorship of the school. To date It is being sponsored by the Church of God. The school has trained teachers employed by the government.
THEME:
CAPACITY BUILDING FOR COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS. KVDA endeavors to empower communities to take care and support orphans and vulnerable children. During the work camp there will be a workshop where community based organizations will be invited to be trained on issues related to project governance, management, and increased capacity of community-based organizations to develop budgets, work plans, cash forecasts and monitoring of financial systems. By the end of work camp participants will have an increased understanding of organizational development, better project and resource management skills, as well as better knowledge for effective proposal writing. This will create more opportunities to learn in a group setting and to continue building their organizational capacity.
WORK:
Volunteers will work for six hours daily from Mondays to Fridays. They will be involved in Brick Making, tree planting, Fencing, Basket Weaving, work shop on empowerment of CBO‘s and home visits.
ACCOMMODATION:
Volunteers will be accommodated in classrooms at the school with two separate rooms for male and female. This will be in a workcamp set up where there are no beds and they will sleep on the floor on their mats and sleeping bags to experience complexities of development challenges in rural Kenya. Volunteers with special needs like those who are physically challenged should alert KVDA on application so that efforts are made to accommodate them appropriately.
CAMP FEES:
Volunteers participating in this project will be required to pay Euros 300 for a package of three weeks and this will include Airport Pick Up and drop off after the work camp, one day full board accommodation during the orientation day, fares to the project and back, food, facilitation, certificate of participation and will cater for Administrative costs as well.
KISWAHILI TRAINING PROGRAM {optional} :Kiswahili training program is tailor-made to suit volunteers’ preference and open to individuals keen to have basic knowledge in Kiswahili that is widely spoken in East Africa and nowadays taught in prestigious Universities in the world. The 10-day program is organized in a serene atmosphere in order to quench for thirst among volunteers. Those willing to participate in the program should inform KVDA at least two weeks before arrival. Charges - Euros 200 all inclusive.
EDUCATiONAL TOURS:
KVDA Organizes educational tours to spectacular sites of Interest and the fees charged is all inclusive of meals, accommodation and tour guiding. This will be held before or after the work camp and those who wish to participate should make the application at least two weeks before arrival to enable KVDA put its act together. 10% of the income from the Educational Tours is used to support community projects. Due to an increase in the park fees by Kenya Wild Life Service, the following are the charges with effect from 1st January 2011.
3 days tour to Masaai Mara National Park – 350 Euros 4th day tour to Lake Nakuru an extra 150 Euros Nairobi National park (One Day) - 150 Euros Bomas of Kenya - 100 Euros
The occupants of this community are a Bantu speaking tribe known as Kambas. They are located in the semi arid eastern part of Kenya. Naming is an important aspect of the Kamba culture. Traditionally, Kamba children were named after a time of events surrounding their birth. The community is the heart of exploring the Kamba culture. Kamba men are masters of wood carvings whereas women are best known for their colorful sisal and basket weaving. Music and dance also play a major role in the Kamba culture.
BACKGROUND OF THE SCHOOL:
The school is a community initiative. It was established so as to serve as an educational facility so as to help their children become more engaged in learning experience through connecting their cultural beliefs and life goals and more so to enable the girl child to attend school.
THEME:
FOOD SECURITY. Poverty levels in this region are very high. Ukambani experiences acute drought and the inhabitants receive relief food from the government. The area can go for several years without rainfall. The area had sometimes back gone without rainfall for 5 years i.e. since 2004-2009. The volunteers will be required to sensitize the community to grow drought resistant crops such as sorghum, cassava, millet, green grams so as to eradicate hunger and ensure food security as well as construct water reservoirs in order to tap more water during the rainy season.
WORK:
Volunteers will work for six hours daily from Mondays to Fridays. They will be involved in brick making, gabion construction, planting trees, basket weaving, wood carvings, traditional dances, clearing bushes, intercultural learning, teaching and home visits.
ACCOMMODATION:
Volunteers will be accommodated in classrooms at the school with two separate rooms for male and female. This will be in a workcamp set up where there are no beds and they will sleep on the floor on their mats and sleeping bags to experience complexities of development challenges in rural Kenya. Volunteers with special needs like those who are physically challenged should alert KVDA on application so that efforts are made to accommodate them appropriately.
CAMP FEES:
Volunteers participating in this project will be required to pay Euros 300 for a package of three weeks and this will include Airport Pick Up and drop off after the work camp, one day full board accommodation during the orientation day, fares to the project and back, food, facilitation, certificate of participation and will cater for Administrative costs as well.
KISWAHILI TRAINING PROGRAM {optional} :Kiswahili training program is tailor-made to suit volunteers’ preference and open to individuals keen to have basic knowledge in Kiswahili that is widely spoken in East Africa and nowadays taught in prestigious Universities in the world. The 10-day program is organized in a serene atmosphere in order to quench for thirst among volunteers. Those willing to participate in the program should inform KVDA at least two weeks before arrival. Charges - Euros 200 all inclusive.
EDUCATiONAL TOURS:
KVDA Organizes educational tours to spectacular sites of Interest and the fees charged is all inclusive of meals, accommodation and tour guiding. This will be held before or after the work camp and those who wish to participate should make the application at least two weeks before arrival to enable KVDA put its act together. 10% of the income from the Educational Tours is used to support community projects. Due to an increase in the park fees by Kenya Wild Life Service, the following are the charges with effect from 1st January 2011.
3 days tour to Masaai Mara National Park – 350 Euros 4th day tour to Lake Nakuru an extra 150 Euros Nairobi National park (One Day) - 150 Euros Bomas of Kenya - 100 Euros
Wajir is a town in North Eastern Province, Kenya. It is headquarters of Wajir District. The latest census of Wajir reports a population of 32,207. Wajir is located in an arid area prone to drought. In spring 2006 there was a severe famine. Four new districts were created in August 2007. They are Wajir East, Wajir South, Wajir North and Wajir West. All have new headquarters and new district commissioners. Education - Wajir county has ten secondary schools six of which are located at Wajir East district some of the schools include Wajir high school, Wajir girls high, Furaha high, Waberi mixed day secondary school. Wajir are people are generally ascribed by the local inhabitants to the Madanle, a semi-legendary people of high stature, who are associated with the Somali. It is served by Wajir Airport with flights to Nairobi, Galcaio and Mogadishu.
BACKGROUD OF WAJIR PRIMARY SCHOOL:
Wajir primary school was started so as to have the pastoral community’s children go to school. Wajir is a dry area and children preferred to move with their cattle from one place to the other in search of pastures instead of going to school. With the recent drought, they no longer have their large herds of cattle and people even in their late teens are attending school as this is the only way they can get food as schools receive relief food from the government.
THEME:
PEACE BUILDING AND CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION Remote and arid, Wajir County is largely barren. Somalis are divided into three major clans: Ogaden, Ajuran and Degodia and several smaller ones. They are nomadic pastoralists, shifting herds of camels, cattle, sheep and goats to wherever pasture and water can be found. Competing with each other for access to skimpy resources has made suspicions run deep. The mere blocking of access to an animal water pan, or a problem between market vendors, can have an effect akin to applying a match to dry leaves. Over the years, political interference by outsiders has added to the tension. Frequent droughts compounded the resource scarcity problem cited as root cause of chronic mistrust between clans and other groups. In recent years, that atmosphere of tension and mistrust has changed. It all began in the early nineties when a discussion by a small group of women attending a wedding - giving vent to concerns about violence - spontaneously gathered momentum and developed into a movement. The Wajir Peace Group formed then to encourage dialogue among the warring parties, has since evolved into the Wajir Peace and Development Committee, showing the value of encouraging community involvement, and the use of dialogue to resolve conflicts. Volunteers will work with Wajir Peace Group in addressing the issue of peace.
WORK:
Volunteers will work for six hours daily from Mondays to Fridays. Volunteers will be involved in awareness on peace building initiatives, workshops, digging of a well, fencing and teaching as well as go for home visits in the local community.
ACCOMMODATION:
Volunteers will be accommodated in classrooms at the school with two separate rooms for male and female. This will be in a workcamp set up where there are no beds and they will sleep on the floor on their mats and sleeping bags to experience complexities of development challenges in rural Kenya. Volunteers with special needs like those who are physically challenged should alert KVDA on application so that efforts are made to accommodate them appropriately.
CAMP FEES:
Volunteers participating in this project will be required to pay Euros 300 for a package of three weeks and this will include Airport Pick Up and drop off after the work camp, one day full board accommodation during the orientation day, fares to the project and back, food, facilitation, certificate of participation and will cater for Administrative costs as well.
KISWAHILI TRAINING PROGRAM {optional} :Kiswahili training program is tailor-made to suit volunteers’ preference and open to individuals keen to have basic knowledge in Kiswahili that is widely spoken in East Africa and nowadays taught in prestigious Universities in the world. The 10-day program is organized in a serene atmosphere in order to quench for thirst among volunteers. Those willing to participate in the program should inform KVDA at least two weeks before arrival. Charges - Euros 200 all inclusive.
EDUCATiONAL TOURS:
KVDA Organizes educational tours to spectacular sites of Interest and the fees charged is all inclusive of meals, accommodation and tour guiding. This will be held before or after the work camp and those who wish to participate should make the application at least two weeks before arrival to enable KVDA put its act together. 10% of the income from the Educational Tours is used to support community projects. Due to an increase in the park fees by Kenya Wild Life Service, the following are the charges with effect from 1st January 2011.
3 days tour to Masaai Mara National Park – 350 Euros 4th day tour to Lake Nakuru an extra 150 Euros Nairobi National park (One Day) - 150 Euros Bomas of Kenya - 100 Euros
« The outside world did not interfere, because it seemed so distant, and so we spent our spare time getting to know each other and learning about each other countries', languages and cultures. Everyone was completely relaxed. This simply would not have been possible on any other type of holiday. VAP enabled me to have a truly memorable experience. »
