Kenya 2023

Saturday was a chance to see some of the local facilities, visit the baby orphanage, go for a swim and pop into town. All things that seem like a regular Saturday in most parts of the world, with the exception of the orphanage. However, here in Kitale, there are precautions that we have to take in order to keep this as safe as possible. So this morning, I popped into town straight after breakfast to see the market and assess whether it would be sensible to take the students through it. I was expecting to be swamped with street children and beggars looking to get some money but really we were able to walk really freely through the city. Only a couple of people came but no one that really caused us any real trouble.  Then off to the Kitale Club for a swim and lunch. The Kitale Club is a traditional golf course that has been well maintained since colonial times and is clearly frequented by the wealthiest parts of society. There are rules in the club that had to be observed...

Our first day in kitale started with an unexpected visit to His Excellency the governor for Transnzoia county. He invited us all to come and talk about our project and how we are supporting education in his county. He stood and spoke about all the things you'd want to hear about he tackling of corruption, the need to improve society through education and the travesty of teenage pregnancy that has exploded during and since COVID pandemic. He also invited us to go to the Masai Mara so we are hoping this is something that we can work out. We were late for this morning's meeting but we were running on Kenyan time. So we were late and strangely this meant we had missed our slot, or the previous meeting was also running over. There is always a protocol to follow and following a set plan together with prayers said to open and close the meeting. This isn't something that I am totally comfortable with and I have to ensure I don't gabble or waffle both of which I am really good a...

Getting anywhere for 2:30 am is a real challenge. The question over sleep or suffer comes into play and you never really know what's best. Of course the half way house is what I went for and got a couple of hours of broken sleep before starting a full day of travelling. Connecting flights always adds to the stress of flying as a short delay could spell disaster for the connecting flight. Our trip also had the extra jeopardy with a number of students not having allocated seats for the second flight. The airline did a fantastic job and got us all on without any real trouble.  The visa system is now streamlined with everyone having to do it before travelling and airlines checking them before the start of the outbound journey. Still large cues coming through passport control, and the baggage reclaim was super quick. Dinner in the hotel at midnight followed by another night of do I don't I sleep with another early start to avoid any protests or traffic in Nairobi. Finished off the d...

 This is my first visit back to Kenya since 2018. I am leading our school trip with nearly 40 students and 9 staff to the Trans Nzoia county around Kitale. The purpose of our trip is to support education in Kenya by building solid, safe, and sustainable buildings that will allow the community an education for years to come. I have been 3 times before so I feel fairly prepared but each time I have been it has been a completely different experience. This one already feels different despite me having nearly 4 weeks to go. I have an amazing group of adults going with me. I usually get to pick my team for trips, well at least have some input as to who I go with. I haven't this time and you never quite know what to expect. Our team-building weekend was a massive eye-opener in such a good way. My team are amazing and they all are really good and allowing me to delegate and then not worry about the things getting done. Everyone has their strengths and I have paired the team so that I know ...