Working With The Kenyan Community in Nairobi, Kenya

We have been working with the Kenyan community in Nairobi, Kenya for over ten years. In this blog we will be discussing the ways to approach volunteer projects in Kenya and the issues that arise. We will consider the ways in which volunteers can make a difference in the lives of people in Kenya, as well as some common misconceptions about volunteering.

The first misconception that many volunteers have is that they are somehow helping others by volunteering. This is not true – people do not need help when they are doing what they love to do. People need help when they are doing something that is difficult for them or something that they don’t enjoy doing. If you think about it, when you volunteer you are doing something fun and fulfilling, while also helping others. This is why we believe that volunteering should be done only by those who have a strong desire to do so.

The second misconception that many volunteers have is that they are somehow saving money by volunteering. It is important to understand that most volunteer projects cost more than $100 per day per person. For those who are interested in saving money and making an impact on the lives of others, volunteer projects may not be the best option for them.

What we believe is most important for volunteers is to find an organization that allows them

The first thing you need to know about working with the community in Kenya is that you need to have a lot of patience. The Kenyan people are very relaxed and do not operate on the same time schedule that we do here in the United States.

I will be honest, when I first arrived in Nairobi I was frustrated at the pace of work and how slow things moved. But I soon realized that this frustration is what had led to so many failed projects in the past. Volunteer organizations arrive at a site, want to get things done quickly and then leave before they really know what they are doing.

The way we approached our project was different. We took it slow, listened to what the people wanted, learned from their experiences and truly worked together as a team. Only after we had built a strong relationship with the community did we start any real work.

For example, one of our first tasks was to start rebuilding a community center that had been destroyed by fire several months ago. We arrived at the site and were ready to get started right away but there was some confusion over where exactly it should be located. So we decided to meet with some community leaders, including two local pastors and an elder who had lived there all his life, and ask them where they

Hello everyone!

I just wanted to take a few minutes and write a blog post while I’m here in Kenya. I know I haven’t written one in a while, but it was mostly because of lack of internet access. We are currently staying in the city of Nairobi, which is where we flew into when we first got to Kenya. The city itself is actually not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. It’s pretty clean, and the roads are paved really nicely and are easy to navigate through. Although the city is pretty nice, there are still some areas that have major issues with poverty, especially outside the center of Nairobi near the slums and shanty towns.

For those of you who don’t know me yet, my name is Jaifal Cheema. I’m a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute studying Game Design and Development, which is probably why I love video games so much (I mean who doesn’t?). This will be my second time coming out to Kenya to volunteer with the Kenyan Community in Nairobi (KCOM), but this time I am coming with a group of people from RPI who are also volunteering for KCOM! So far it

My name is Jessie Festa and I have been working with the Kenyan community for about 2 months now. I am a volunteer who works with the youth in Nairobi, Kenya, and I am currently working on a project that will help address the issue of unemployment in Kenya through the arts.

The goal of this project is to educate people in Kenya to be able to make a career out of their skills. This means that we are trying to find ways to create jobs for these people so that they can use their skills as a way of making money, instead of just selling art as a way to fund themselves. We hope to create an environment where people can find employment by using their skills and talents in ways that are not only profitable but also sustainable and environmentally friendly.

Volunteerism is a strong tradition in the United States, and more and more Americans are looking abroad to help others. But, as is often the case, good intentions can lead to unintended consequences. This blog examines some of the issues, challenges and successes encountered by working with non-profits and volunteers in Kenya.

I would like to start out by saying that I am in no way an expert regarding the issues that arise in Kenya and the rest of Africa. I am merely a volunteer with a passion for sharing my stories and giving others the chance to get involved. As a volunteer, there are so many things that I want to share but it is hard to find the voice to do so. When I started working with jaifal, an organization based in Nairobi, Kenya, we really were trying to figure out what our role was as an organization. We were asking ourselves, “What can we do to help people?” It seemed so simple at first glance: just show up and lend a hand. But as we all know, nothing is ever that simple.

jaifal has been working on community projects since 2008. Some of our projects include building schools, water wells, and basic community infrastructure. We have also worked with kids in orphanages and helped them start small businesses (such as selling soap). Our most recent project was building a library for children in Kawangware, one of the largest slums in Nairobi.

In the past year or so, we have been working on developing programs which will help communities sustain themselves without outside support. One such project

I rode a bus for 6 hours, didn’t know what I was doing, got kicked out of a house, and was stranded in Nairobi with no money or friends.

Not my finest hour. The trip started well enough with a six hour bus ride to Nairobi. I sat next to an older man on the bus who was very friendly and asked me many questions about myself. He had lived in the U.S. for years and said he loved it there. We talked about international politics and the economy and what it’s like living in Kenya versus the U.S. One of my favorite parts of traveling is meeting people from all over the world, so I was enjoying our conversation thoroughly.

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