During the Easter holiday 2009, a small delegation from The Kenya Project in Bergen were in Nairobi to evaluate the volunteer program. These are a short list of handy hint for your own preparation and inspiration.
Prepare for Kenya
First of all I would like to recommend you to buy a travellers guide (Lonely Planet for
example (new edition will come in May) ). There you can get valuable information about,
the food, culture, history, safaris, maps, Swahili phrases, etc. etc.
Another advice is to learn a few phrases of Swahili. It’s really appreciated if you know
how to say hello and thank you!
Hostel
We recommend the Upper Hill Campsite. It is a great place to stay, and it makes a whole lot easier for Provide to arrange for transportation to the clinics if all Kenya Project volunteers used this accomodation (if there are beds available, of course). Please see www.upperhillcampsite.com for booking and location.
Traffic
The traffic usually moves really slow. In downtown it’s basically traffic jam all day
during weekdays. Be prepared!! Bring water! Because it’s gonna be hot! If you usually
get motion sick, bring medicine. The roads are not very bad in the city, but on the
countryside they are really bumpy!
Safety
Nairobi is a dangerous city, but if you take precautions there is no need to be worried.
Don’t walk alone in the dark, if you want to walk in the slums - ask a Provide staff to
walk with you, and don’t walk around with visible money and valuables in the slums.
During our stay, we did not meet any dangerous or suspicious people, just nice and
generous ones!
Life at the clinics
The students usually work 5 days and have the weekends off. Every clinic (exept Umoja)
has one day of the week as ”vaccination day”, where the students help out weighing and
vaccinating babies or fill out curves. The other days of the week the students usually
rotate between being with the doctor, nurse, lab assistant or pharmacist. It is usually
busy in the mornings and slow in the afternoons. It is a good idea to bring a book to
kill some time with if you have a slow day. As everywhere else, people at the clinics
have different personalities. Some of the staff are really outgoing and make you feel
really welcome and included, and some are shy and quiet. Since most of the consultations
are in Swahili, it is important that you are open and ask questions if it is something
you don’t understand. All of the staff and almost all of the patients speak English. At
one occasion we experienced that one member of the staff became very, very excited about
the students and wanted them to do procedures that they had not learned in school and did
not feel comfortable with and it was hard to say no. We have talked to the director about
it so it shouldn’t be a problem anymore. But it is important that you don’t do things you
are not trained to do.
Remember to bring antiseptic hand wash (antibacterial wipes or cream)
Visa
To get into Kenya you need a visa. A ”one time visa” costs $25 and is bought at the
airport in Nairobi. It has to be paid in dollars. Be prepared to wait in lane....
Things to do
There are a lot of things to do in Nairobi. The National Museum, Nairobi National Park,
Karen Blixen museum, soccer games, City market, Masai market (only Tuesdays), Kazuri (a
bead factory run by single mothers), and the famous restaurant Carnivore are just a few
examples. If you want to take a swim, we recommend that you go to one of the big hotels,
Hilton for example.
Safaris
There are a lot of safaris in various comfort levels and price groups. We (four girls
from Bergen) to Masai Mara with AfricanecoSafaris, www.africanecosafaris.com. We were
satisfied. We got to see a lot of animals and the staff was really nice. We lived in
tents with wooden beds but they also had treehouses as an option. If you want to book,
talk to the manager Asad Anwar (
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) .
Donations
We have an agreement that the students pay for transportation and the food given at the
clinics (about 1000 Ksh/day). Other than that, you are not obligated to give any donations
;but if you do it’s really appreciated. It’s a nice gesture to leave your lab coat (and
gloves.. If you have any left..) when you leave. If you have the capacity to bring some
equipment, it would be awesome.. They are in need of everything, gloves, dressings, lab
equipment, examination tools...
During your stay you will encounter grave poverty and find that most people are in great
need of money. But we believe that the best way of helping is through Provide, and
strongly recommend that donations are channelled by them.
Enjoy your stay!
Best regards from application manager Emma and the "Kenya project group" |
