Kenya boasts of beautiful landscapes, a complicated past, and a natural psyche. This coastal region is awash with luxurious beaches, wild animals, national parks, and lake fishing. You’ll find yourself right next to Lake Victoria, where you’ll experience the kindness of the Kenyans.
Kenya is stepping into the future, and you can help drive this progress by volunteering with us. We are based 30 kilometers east of Kisumu City in Muhoroni Sub-County, a region of roughly 145,000 people where local livelihoods rely heavily on subsistence farming and regional sugar factories, though economic opportunities remain limited. While our primary focus is the Wangaya community within Muhoroni, our reach extends across the broader sub-county and into neighboring areas to address urgent needs, ensuring project sites remain within reasonable travel distance so our team can maximize time on the ground.
As a volunteer, you will have the excitement of gaining an even deeper understanding and appreciation of a foreign land and culture through humanitarian service, language and intercultural training, and exploration.
WORK PROJECTS
Help build a home for a family in need.
This program is the most popular in our community-based programs. Many families live in huts made of mud (soil) walls and have grass-thatched roofs. These weak structures can wear out easily with time, get blown away by winds, and leak during the rainy season. Grass-thatched huts are also generally single-roomed and shared with children as well as a cooking area. Even the privileged families with houses have rusted corrugated iron sheets which often leak.
Many families suffer from diseases such as pneumonia and coughs due to cold nights. We work with such families to upgrade them from a grass-thatched shelter to iron-roofed homes with 3 large rooms, comfortable enough to provide a family with simple privacy. Those with already worn-out and eroded iron roofs are also upgraded to the modern type, which does not rust or corrode, even in rainy seasons.
‘Water for Life’
Clean and safe water is nearly impossible to find. Mothers search for it in vain, and children gather dirty water when nothing else is available. As they do, hope is lost when inevitable sickness and poverty follow. Working closely with these communities, listening to their needs and providing much-needed water solutions will be a fulfilling experience for a volunteer. We desire to see more schools and communities have access to clean and safe water. Borehole drilling is quite scientific, but volunteers are welcome to help with building waterways and laying pipes with concrete for families who need water. They will do this with the help of local plumbers.
School Refurbishing
Many schools in our community are in deplorable conditions, and they have long been neglected. Children must learn in classrooms with crumbling walls, floors with cracks, and stone seats due to a lack of desks. Be part of this community and help refurbish such schools and help keep the children safe while in school to enhance their learning atmosphere and chance for a better future.
Medical Clinic
In rural Kenya, families often walk over 20 kilometers for basic medical care, only to face severe medicine and staffing shortages. To address this urgent need, Globe Aware Coordinator Pius is building a community clinic to serve 20,000 people with reliable, essential healthcare, vaccinations, and maternal care. Volunteers assist with construction, renovation, and beautification to help bring lifesaving care closer to home.
Bakery
Beyond construction and outreach, volunteers may have the hands-on opportunity to assist
at the local bakery. You will help prepare fresh bread, which is then distributed directly to local families and community members.
Projects vary depending on the number of volunteers, which projects were finished (or not) with the prior group, what priorities have changed, weather conditions, which supplies are available, and often the interest and fitness level of the volunteers. For these reasons, specific projects are often not fixed until the week before your arrival and can even change upon arrival.
We welcome you to work with us on these meaningful projects!
FOOD AND LODGING
You will be settled together in a hotel apartment with hot running water, a flushing toilet, and WIFI. Two people can stay in one room. Up to 20 volunteers can stay at this hotel. However, with a larger group, accommodation will be arranged at hotels that have capacities to accommodate larger groups. Information will be provided in such situations.
Kenyan food is typically continental and comprised of chicken, eggs, pork, beef, vegetables, lentils, and beans, and served with chapati, bread, rice, and Ugali. Breakfast and dinner will be served at your accommodations unless otherwise noted in the itinerary, and lunch will be served at the project site.
LEISURE AND ACTIVITIES
You can enjoy a boat ride around Lake Victoria, where you can see hippos swimming, and visit the Equator Line. Your week may also include a visit to the Kisumu Museum and Impala Sanctuary. Our guide will introduce you to the local culture as well as invite volunteers to participate in some church services. There is an opportunity to participate in cooking classes and watch dance performances. Sports games with the local school are also easily arranged during volunteers’ breaks or downtime.
Please inform us ahead of time if you are interested in the safari so we can prepare the necessary arrangements.
Safari to Maasai Mara Game Reserve itinerary - This is an ADD-ON OPTION: 3 days/2-night Masai Mara Safari, adds $1000 per person, not operated by Globe Aware, but we can help you book. The package includes a standard vehicle; however, upgrading your vehicle will incur an additional charge of $1,100 per vehicle.
The Maasai Mara reserve charges $200 per person per day for park fees as of July 1st 2024. These costs have been added to the overall cost of the safari.
ARRANGING YOUR AIRFARE
There are no direct flights to Kisumu International Airport, so you will have to land in JKIA-Nairobi, then connect and arrive in Kisumu in the morning/afternoon hours. This is perfect for pick-up. We meet the volunteers at the airport passenger arrivals, and there we will hold a Globe Aware sign.
All inland transportation will be provided to and from the program activities. It’s about 30 minutes’ drive to the accommodations and, depending on the work site, at most 40 minutes from the accommodations. There is pickup and drop off to the airport
Return flights should be from JKIA-Nairobi if you do the Safari to Masai Mara; otherwise, you can book your return flight from Kisumu.
SAFETY AND SECURITY
Kenya is generally safe for tourists who travel together with our group and coordinator. A Yellow Fever vaccination certificate is only required if you are arriving from or transiting through a country with a risk of yellow fever transmission. Otherwise, no specific vaccinations are required, though we advise consulting your personal physician before travel.
