Africa Newspapers

AVIF Volunteers in Kenya

• Rastas and beads
  Photojournalist and volunteer Anu is currently in the idyllic community of Uhundha, on the shores of Lake Victoria, western Kenya, far far away from the hustle and bustle of Nairobi. Before she left the metropolis, however, she met with many other travelers, one of whom introduced her to the Shiriki  organisation.Her wonderful blog describes the visit. I've already contacted Ras Githaka to ask
  
  
• Diary of a volunteer
  I have met two English guys on stay in Fiji. They said to me that they taught the small children in Africa. I got so interesting in and one year after I decide to do it. It was not so easy to find some organization to go with. Almost all organizations take some fees. I think that is so crazy. I want to help with children in Africa and I must pay for it?! Fortunately I found the small organization
  
  
• When you tuck yourself into bed tonight ....
  .. take a moment - not for guilt - but just to consider whether you can make a difference to someone.I've often thought how unfair it is to support one family and not the other but we have a special link with Christine and her family, the cook at the Tumaini Academy, set up by Canadian Amanda Flanagan. Christine is sole carer to her own 3 children and 4 orphaned grandchildren. She lost her
  
  
• Texting water to Enkito
  "Farmers are struggling after one of the hottest and driest months recorded have left entire crops parched and failed". This is NORTH YORKSHIRE, near Wetherby.Thousands of miles away in Enkito, Amboseli, SW Kenya, the ground is always parched. When the rains finally do arrive the ground soaks up as much as it can and then surface water washes away most of the remaining fertile topsoil, leaving
  
  
• Collaboration fun and results
  Our latest volunteer, Wayne, has arrived safe and is settling in with Michael in Naivasha after a brief stay in Nairobi last Friday night to watch the team Michael coaches win at the city stadium, beating the top of the Premier League 2-0 !! After an incredible trip through the stunning southern Rift valley near Mai Mahiu town, Wayne will be visiting with youth in Gilgil presenting the equipment
  
  
• Recycling plastics - empowering youth
  I just got news via Facebook from Justin Sekiguchi of Up with Hope of the successful negotiations they've made with the Staken Recycling Company in Nairobi. Staken, a kenyan company, are actually collecting Justin's teams' hard-laboured collections of discarded plastics and turning them into coat hangers.This is particularly brilliant for us because we're trying to complete a business plan along
  
  
• Sustainability = Empowerment
  What do you get when you stick volunteers into a Kenyan community school project ..... Family Fun Day !!!!I won't reiterate Stacey's own words but a few key words for you :Well project, HUGE success, prepared poems, baby class singing their ABC's , frog jump race, wheelbarrow race .... and the inevitable Teachers race = Volunteering with AVIF.This was all organised by the volunteers to fund the
  
  
• Tis the season for giving - not wasting
  I'm in conversation with the fabulously-powerful combination of good looks, intelligence and world vision;Anthony Anderson. "Living the dichotomy of the fashion world and sustainable living", Anthony does what he says while sharing the experience of his move from "an ethical vegan diet to raw food via a desire to lose weight for his modeling career", which spans Hugo Boss, Macy′s, Tommy Hilfiger,
  
  
• Let it snow - let it snow - let it snowwwww
  Its such a pleasure, especially in this arctic weather, to work online.No commute - no cost - flexible timescales - but mainly because I work with so many fabulous people.Carolyn Adams is one of them.Yesterday morning Carolyn was on the phone to the British High Commission, diplomatically screaming at Nairobi's bureaucracy, namely the Attorney General's department. I'd like to mention that the
  
  
• Christmas come early
  Another amazing day .. not only did it stop raining in the UK and the sun shone brightly, but my daughter got confirmation of the arrival of her white Blackberry Bold   ... the bad news is that my son has to wait another week for the arrival of Assassins Creed 3 Brotherhood ...... ridiculous western materialistic crap aside .... the REAL point of this blog is the results our Norwegian
  
  
• Maasai at TED (almost)
  Petr, one of our Czech volunteers from the Summer has managed to upload hundreds of his photos to both Flickr and Facebook to pass on just how amazing the month was he spent at the village of Enkito, Amboseli National Park, alongside fellow volunteers, Shiv and Emma. This is one of Petr's photos of Narakiramart looking at this actual photo! She's smiling now but was actually scared of the
  
  
• I love my job - volunteering just works
  .. I just received some fantastic news from the folks at NABUUR and the Friends of Arrow Web Hospital. Carolyn has managed to secure the remaining funding to ship the vital medical equipment to Kenya. Funds were offered by COCO, a children’s charity founded by Olympic athlete Steve Cram, who support children throughout the developing world. (Carolyn sharing a joke with some of the ladies at
  
  
• New experiences and progress made
  After a wonderful Summer I'm definitely enjoying the colours of [Fall] Autumn and watching the little waterfall return in our local woods from the incessant rain UK is getting right now. It's good also that volunteers are still travelling Kenya to volunteer during their spare time. Mona (a Winter/Spring 2010 volunteer) had only just emailed me about her plans to help the Volunteer Centre
  
  
• What a day
  Today started out with me thinking .. "its going to be one of those days" :( .. wasps nests, dogs barking, pandemonium .. and then I sat down and opened my Inbox. Wow. The Force is strong in today's emails! Firstly I'd like to thank those involved in offering us a "Better Net Award" from The UnLtd Millennium Awards Scheme which will help toward "Safeguarding" costs in the preparation of our
  
  
• Another summer over .. unless you want to go to Kenya NOW??
  The volunteers have sadly all left their communities now though both the villagers and the volunteers will have no doubt left huge impressions on each. Its never an easy time, especially for the children, to say Goodbye, but the great thing is memories, experiences learnt and of course THE PHOTOS ....... Emma's fabulous album from Amboseli is here on FaceBook and I'll pass on more as they get