Volunteer in Kenya

Dette program tilbydes i samarbejde med AFS Kenya og nedenfor kan du læse deres beskrivelse af programmet:

Experience the real Kenya with its vibrant culture, amazing nature, and wildlife, while contributing to the local community as a volunteer with AFS.

While volunteering in Kenya, you will live with a local host family, who will be your family and gateway into authentic Kenyan culture during your stay.

AFS Kenya offers a range of opportunities for prospective volunteers in fields such as education, environmental work, community development, and the health sector.

Here is AFS Kenya’s description of the common project fields:

Education & Schools

Typical tasks given to AFS participants include:

• Assisting teachers in planning and delivering lessons to students. Often AFS participants allocated certain subjects to teach especially in the lower levels like kindergarten.
• AFS participants are particularly helpful in supporting foreign language practice especially French and Germany which are core foreign language Kenyan students can pursue from elementary level to high school. 
• Support in extra-curricular activities such as sports, arts, debate, or school clubs
• Assist in organizing tournaments
• Support in special lessons such as music, dance, photography, or arts

Be aware that there are school holidays between the end of October to early January. 

These projects are in urban, suburban and rural areas and constitute over 40% of our total current active projects.

Community Development

These are projects that are involved with either youth and women’s empowerment, community outreach or livelihood initiatives. Currently we have one project within the Masai community. These participants mostly do;

• Office administrative duties like taking or updating records
• Community outreach activities to sensitive the community on certain matter e.g. promoting girl-child education
• Publicity and marketing of organization or community initiatives such as beads making

This project is set up in rural area. Our main project partner is ACK Isinya Child Development Centre.

Environmental Conservation

AFS Kenya has currently partnered with Iruwa Project, located in the rural Wundanyi area, specializing in renewable energy technologies, including solar water heating systems, solar pumps, and biogas. The project produces and installs sustainable energy solutions, offers training, and operates as a workshop for local vocational students. This project was originally an idea by an AFS participant, but has since grown into a locally owned initiative with some funding from Germany. (https://iruwataita.wixsite.com/solarwater).

It often has 2 to 3 AFS participants at any given time. Typical assignments include;

• Supporting installing biogas product to the villagers
• Office administrative tasks
• Community outreach to sensitize on important of clean-energy
• Representing the project in symposium, local exhibition etc

Other environmental project we currently pursue is in organic farming managed by an organization known as SACDEP (https://sacdepkenya.org) that is headquartered in a suburban town known as, Thika about 40 kms from Nairobi, capital city of Kenya.

AFS Participants are expected to be engaged in hands-on, field-based tasks focusing on sustainable ecological agriculture, community training, and rural empowerment. These tasks may include:

• Assisting in the setup and upkeep of organic farming demonstration plots.
• Helping rural youth and farmer groups process products, such as making coconut oil, processing fruits and nuts, and packaging organic products.
• Assist experts in organizing farmers into organic production groups for collective marketing.
• Assisting in the mobilization and organization of farmers to initiate and manage Rural Savings Schemes.
• Supporting Organization’s program such as Schools and Youth Environment and Climate Action program by educating youth in environmental conservation and forest protection.
• Helping manage workshops, meetings, and outdoor team-building activities at the SACDEP training and conference center. 
• Marketing and promoting the work of the project.
• Assisting in data collection and creating case studies to document project 

Health & Social Support

AFS Kenya is also collaborating with medical facilities mostly in suburban and rural areas to provide volunteer experiences for our AFS participants. Volunteer tasks are primarily non-medical assignments in line with our Ministry of Health regulations.

These tasks may include;

1. Patient Support & Front Desk Assistance e.g. Help with patient registration and filing systems
2. Data & Administrative Support, e.g., entering data into health records systems for outpatient registers, immunization logs, etc.
3. Health Education & Community Outreach, e.g. Assist staff during outreach clinics (e.g., immunization days, antenatal outreach) 
4. Community Engagement & Outreach Programs, e.g. Participate in home visits with Community Health Volunteers or Support health campaigns such as vaccination drives, malaria campaigns
5. Communication & Visibility e.g. Help the dispensary or partner organization with social media or reporting (off course, respecting consent and privacy)

About this type of community service project: 

When you choose a community service project abroad, you commit yourself to truly getting to know the culture of the country where you are going. A large part of your day will be spent working at your placement, but you will also have time to explore your surroundings, connect with locals, and gain a deeper sense of their values and way of living.

AFS cooperates with a wide network of schools, kindergartens, NGOs, and community projects around the world. In some destinations, this means there are many different possible placements, and the description you see on our website is just one example of what your project might look like. In other destinations, we work with a specific local partner organization (for example, a particular NGO or community initiative), and in those cases, the placement will be more clearly defined.

We are happy to receive your preferences, but we can also help you find the right match if you are not quite sure which type of work or location would suit you best.

Your host family will become one of your closest connections during your stay. They may include you in family traditions, meals, or local outings, but you should also expect to take part in the daily household, just like any other family member. Every host family is unique, and you can look forward to experiencing a way of life that may be very different from your own.

In addition to your host family, you will have a local contact person who will support you with practical questions, cultural advice, and any challenges that may arise.

On this program, you should expect to be surrounded by locals – in your host family, at your placement, and through your community. Depending on the destination, you may also meet other international volunteers, but placements are usually spread out to ensure deep integration into the local culture.

HER kan du læse mere om ansøgningsprocessen, din interkulturelle forberedelse, hvilke kompetencer du får, rejsebreve fra vores deltagere,  aktuelle tilbud, hvordan du mixer dit eget program og meget mere.