Adventure Alternative

Working as a Charity Volunteer

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This information is for people wishing to go to Kenya or Nepal to volunteer with the Moving Mountains trust. This is easy to organise but it requires that you read carefully the following information in order to understand what is required and how we will make this trip possible for you.

Logistics and Practicalities

The Moving Mountains Trust appreciates your effort, commitment and support for our projects in Kenya, which positively better the lives for many people in the rural areas.

Following are some important points and information for you regarding your time with us in Kenya and a summary of who we are and how our operation in Kenya will cater for your needs.

Project Logistics

The project will start before your arrival with our site manager Francis Kioni purchasing all the necessary materials and in some cases laying foundations. Kioni is a very experienced man who has been working with us for many years. The main project implementation will then occur when you arrive at the site. The decision for the project will depend on when you go and what we have in the pipeline.

Accommodation will vary during your time in Kenya. In Nairobi you will stay at the NPS (National Park Services) Campsite on Magadi Rd, Nairobi. Here you have the choice of camping or staying in a six-person dorm. Private rooms are available for two people however notification is required to book these. The Campsite is very popular with visitors to Kenya due to having excellent, safe and clean facilities including a great menu and lounge bar.

In Western Kenya you will be staying at a local hotel a short drive from the project base on the outskirts of Siaya Town. Siaya town is a busy market town and the biggest in the region. It is a safe town however after dark people should not wander around alone or without our Kenyan staff. The hotel is clean but basic. The rooms are on a twin basis. Doubles and singles are available however again prior notice is required for booking purposes. Most rooms are ensuite with a toilet and shower. The showers are warm however this is Africa and on occasion the supply of hot water can run out. If this happens the staff will supply you with a basin of hot water.

Meals can be taken at the hotel or on the site. At the site we have a staff kitchen and you are welcome to eat here. Food in Kenya is wholesome and plentiful. It is freshly prepared everyday by qualified cooks and very tasty. The type of food varies however a typical breakfast would be eggs, bread and tea. Lunch is usually a vegetable based stir-fry and dinner a meat stew with African Ugali (maize mash). If you have a particular diet it must be mentioned on your application, we can satisfy most diets without any problem. If you are dinning at the hotel you can expect similar dishes and fried fish (whole) however on request they can also cook more western dishes - sausage and chips are always popular!

In Nairobi you have a full western menu to choose from. In both locations there will be a supply of bottled mineral water, tea, coffee and squash. Additional soft and hard drinks need to be purchased.

Toilet facilities on the site are ‘traditional’, being a long drop and for washing there is a separate room for bucket washes. The toilets in Nairobi and at your hotel are western.

Internal travel by road is either on a privately chartered coach or with Adventure Alternative vehicles. All are safe and professionally driven and fully psv’d and insured. Local travel by Boda Boda is also likely to occur. These are rural taxi’s being a bicycle with a cushioned seat for the hirer. Ladies should avoid offending the local residents by riding sidesaddle.

Internal flights from Kisumu to Nairobi are booked online through Flamingo Airlines, which is a Kenya Airways company. Bookings can be made at the website -  http://www.kenya-airways.com/kq/

On arrival into Kenya you will need to purchase a Visa. This can be done in advance through the Kenyan Embassy in London however it is easier on arrival. You will be asked for a contact address in Kenya on the application. You should write C/O Africampers Tours and Safaris PO BOX 9388, City Square 00200, Nairobi. You need a normal holiday Visa that costs £30, paid in Bank of England notes on arrival or $50 US.

After coming through immigration you should collect your bag and exit through the double glass doors and turn immediately right where you will be met by Adventure Alternative, Moving Mountains and Africamper representatives (see below). The same people will also ensure that you are collected from your internal return flight and transferred to your return international flight.

At no time should you be alone or separated from your guides however in case of an emergency you should save the following emergency contact numbers into your phone:
Rosie – 00254 (0) 722233623.  Peter – 00254 (0) 720298651.  Gavin – 0044 (0) 7740076725

Should friends or relatives need to contact you urgently these numbers can also be used. Additionally on the ground the western staff will have mobiles and will furnish you with their numbers. Your own mobile will work in Kenya if you have selected ‘Roaming’ with your subscriber. It is also possible to buy a Kenyan sim card for £5 however phones must not be blocked to accept one. Phone reception is not particularly good in western Kenya however there is reasonable coverage on the site and in Siaya town. Email is also possible in Siaya and Kisumu.

People need to ensure that offence is not caused accidentally through behaviour. Western Kenya is a traditional and rural area and people are very warm, open and accommodating however their society is stepped in tradition and it is easy for an unwitting westerner to cause offence. Below are a few pointers, additionally the ground staff will guide you further on arrival.

• Food is a blessing and not always available to the local population. On visiting a local house it is traditional for the lady of the house to cook you a meal. It is important that you eat something.
• On meeting Kenyan’s it is important that you shake hands, even if a room is full of people.
• Kenyan men will hold each other’s hands as a sign of respect and friendship, occasionally they may hold your hand.
• Kenyans do not like loud outbursts of emotion except for laughter of course.
• Ladies will need to ensure they are suitably dressed. Shorts should be knee length, shoulders and the navel should be covered.

On the site and at the camp you will need working clothes, which you don’t mind getting dirty or covered in mud or paint. You should also bring some light comfortable clothes for the evenings or if you go to the Carnivore restaurant. There are no washing machines however hand washing can be done for you if required – please note it is offensive to ask someone to wash underwear.

At the camp will be some Kenyan children. If you would like to bring gifts for them you should consider items, which are easily packed and light in weight and don’t forget the girls! Good items are pens, felt tips, face paints, footballs, underwear, football tops, clothing, shoes, maps etc

Working with Children

You will be working with street children, disadvantaged children and orphans in an environment very different, and a lot more basic, than ours. We promote and protect the rights of these children and this means working within our legal remit to conduct a POCVA check with the police and the Child Care Unit of the DHSS on potential volunteers before allowing them onto any trip. We hope you will understand that this is not a breach of your privacy, simply a necessary preparatory move to protect the children and the work of the Trust.

Working with Moving Mountains

We have spent many years setting up a structure which we believe works in the favour of children growing up in desperately poor circumstances in Kenya, and we would hope that you too find our work relevant and efficient, and the children themselves inspiring. However we would ask that if you wish to help or assist any children, that you do so through the framework and network of the Trust and NGO. We have a system in place that is well understood by the children, their families, the schools, communities and Trustees. It works because it is a system honed from years of research, trial and error and practical understanding of how charity should be carried out in a developing country. Visitors can, and have in the past, disrupted this cycle or system by wishing to 'go it alone' and help out in a way which is suddenly not understood and outside the accepted system. We find this has been very detrimental to our work and we ask that all visitors agree to support children, if they so wish, within the framework that we have in place for this.