Empowering & Educating Women & Children of Homa-Bay, Kenya
Volunteering Activities
What We Need
There are different projects and services you can take part in. Arrangements will be made for you depending on your skills and preferences. You will be the one deciding how much time (hours and days) and energy you are willing to spend on any project. As for us, we can only assure you that working as part of a community project will provide you a completely new and rewarding experience.
Examples of working places:
• Pro-active Junior Academy and Happy Kids School based in Homa-bay, where vulnerable children from the local community and orphans study, their ages range from 3-14 years old.
• A local public primary school and a public high school within the same locality.
• A local herbalist clinic working with traditional medicine practices.
• Local village farms where you have the chance to learn from local knowledge and discover the countryside of the region
• Agro-forestry and tree nursery establishment projects together with the Ministry of Forest
Your work schedule is organized that you have plenty of free time for yourself, to study local languages, read books, visit friends, interact with local people, go trekking, hiking, etc.
When & Who
What we Provide
Accommodation is at the family’s house, where you will be provided with bed and adequate beddings. With the host family you will be encouraged to eat local African dishes (which most people find quite appetizing!) and take part of the family life and duties.
All meals full of appetizer are offered to volunteers
Our Fees
More Services we Offer
we assist volunteers who would wish to have Safari by contacting the good and correct tour companies with affordable prices to enable them get the opportunities to see the wild animals. We can give them direct contacts of such people to negotiate before they arrive to us.
Contact Person
Other Ways to Help
The Youth Project provides care and support to vulnerable children from poverty stricken backgrounds. Special emphasis is placed on girls whose lives and welfare have been heavily compromised by stereotypes, African traditions and a discriminatory society against women. Homa Bay County is situated on the shores of Lake Victoria, a region where HIV/AIDS prevalence rate is 30 percent, one of the highest regions in Kenya affected by the epidemic. The epidemic has caused an increased over dependency ratio resulting in extreme poverty in the existing extended family cycles in Africa.
Other impacts of the epidemic are emergence of thousands of orphans, street children, beach boys and girls, the poor widows and widowers, the elderly and child-headed house-holds after the demise of their beloved ones.
Currently the project provides basic needs to the targeted children aged 1-14 years old. We work in close partnership with a Pre-school and primary school called Pro-Active Junior and Happy Kids School- further information below.
Aims
To provide basic needs to orphans and vulnerable children such as education, food and medication;
To provide access to Early Childhood education opportunities to orphaned children in the community as Kenya Government does not fund early childhood development;
To provide guidance, counselling and spiritual nourishment and psychological support to vulnerable children.
Targeted beneficiaries
Educational needs: story books, exercise books, school bags and school supplies, such as pens, crayons, rubbers, mathematical sets, calculators, writing pads, posters and charts on numbers, alphabets, Globes..
Clothing: the children need clothes and school uniforms which are mandatory.
Medical Care: medicine of common diseases as for example, malaria, fever, diarrhea or ringworms. These are purchased in the local pharmacies to children when funds are available;
School feeding: a current prog
Regarding any project you may want to take part in, there are some goods you can easily find at home that could be a great contribution to the local community, such as pens or pencils; study and story books; clothes and shoes; torch lights; old electronic devises that for you have no use anymore (from a memory card to an USB driver, everything is welcome!), instead of ending up in the trash those items would be greatly appreciated here.
Additional Info about Us
As soon as you land at the Nairobi International Airport Jomo Kenyatta you will be given a tourist visa valid for 90 days (3months) at the cost of 50$ (Us dollars).
Our organization has varieties of programmes that can support the aspirations and desire of all volunteer. We welcome all volunteers with an open heart with a hope to exchange skills and knowledge. You will be fully integrated into the community and will have the opportunity to experience the wonders of Kenya. We work openly and honestly and want to make your time with us one to remember. We believe to achieve this you need to be a part of something with purpose. We are passionate and open to new ideas, we want to grow and develop to create change which is permanent. We work closely with schools, medical centres and local families to build a community which is supported and strong in mind and body. The only way to do this is by empowering the community through support, education and skills.
You can get involved in the following things:
Work with vulnerable children from 1 years to 14 years of age. You can teach English, simple Maths, dances, songs and creative Arts. This program is under home based care management where the orphans live with their foster families, friends and well-wishers as they go to school.
Work or help in vocational training program involving a tailoring and design project, giving skills to women to create beautiful clothes. The aim is to provide skills to allow them to work self-employed.
Farm-horticultural crop production and be involved in the marketing of fresh fruit and vegetables
Work in transferring ICT skills on computer to the youths
Work in the community medical clinic which offers the following services to the members within Homa-Bay. At the medical centre they provide the screening and testing of HIV/AIDS, preventative health, guidance and counselling services, Free health mobile services and health education programmes.
We always create a work pattern that enables you to feel comfortable. Our daily programs run roughly from 9.30 am – 4.30 pm, Monday- Friday.
Accommodation
Volunteers stay with a host family to enhance social integration and cultural immersion. During the stay with the host family, you are given a private room, beddings (bed, blanket, bed sheet, mosquito nets)
Meals
Due to climate change the impact on the environment has caused prolonged drought resulting in famine and hunger, therefore we kindly request small donation of 6 US Dollars per day to cover food costs with the family. This will cover breakfast, lunch and supper. Meals include fish, ugali, fish, vegetables, meat, tea, bread.
Daily Living
You will share everyday life with the host family, spend time together, cook, have meals, exchange ideas, discuss and laugh…..
Volunteers shall be provided with a flexible work pattern to enable them to have well-earned down time and explore the beauty of Homa-Bay.
What next?
You shall be informed on a kit list once they have confirmed their visit. Once you arrive at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport or Kisumu International Airport there will be someone from the organisation ready to meet you.
You shall be received by the Host family and given time to rest after the long journey until the next day where by you shall be introduced to the members and the project activities.
