By Donya Mojtahed-Zadeh. This summer in Mbarara, Uganda, I had the privilege of being the second half Project Manager. This role entailed quite a lot of running around town to sort out logistics for next year’s summer, as well as squeezing in those final few school visits we had planned. Hectic as it was, I knew it was coming. I’d even pre-planned a to-do list for it all. But something slightly unexpected for the Summer […]
Context Anyone who has spent any time in Kenya knows that power cuts are frequent and disruptive. The effects of these outages are particularly dire in boarding schools, where students are plunged into darkness every time there is a power cut, severely inhibiting their ability to revise or do their homework outside of daylight hours (7am to 7pm). The cuts are unpredictable and can last several hours or even days. Electricity bills in the secondary schools […]
The context On the 14th of August, Kakamega Central House saw its first ever Period Party. I had been researching cheaper and more sustainable alternatives to the poorly supplied sanitary pad system our school uses, and became interested in menstrual cups as a possible solution. After making some enquiries, I found that many companies could potentially supply a large number for free or at a discounted rate. After myself and other Project Workers presented […]
In my day-to-day life, I would say that I am fairly organised and tidy (my family might disagree with the latter point, given the chaotic state of my bedroom at times…). It has only been through my work as a Project Worker in St Mary’s Mukhuma Secondary School, however, that I have realised the true value of tidiness and organisation. Upon our arrival at school, it quickly became clear that St Mary’s faced great challenges […]
Karthik is a 4th Year Medic at Cambridge, but in summer 2018 he was living in Gambogi in Western Kenya, working with Simbi Secondary School. Learning to live conspicuously In Gambogi I am quickly pegged as a foreigner. When I am out and about, I am generally stared at and have a chorus of onlookers call out “mzungu” to get my attention. “Mzungu” officially meant “white person”, but it’s a broad church and in practice […]
Preconceptions, Misconceptions and Reconceptions Prior to arriving in Kenya my understanding of gender within Kenyan society was simplistic to say the least; having viewed Kenya as a country still under development, I presumed that gender parity would be a distant reality and that women in the country would face an uphill battle in achieving gender equality. This impression was only compounded by some of the advice I came across before travelling, advising girls to cover […]
Karibu Kenya “Every Ten Minutes”; said the sign outside Jomo Kenyatta Nairobi Airport, promising a shuttle bus between terminals with – under any standards – impressive frequency. I began to wait in the pleasant dusky warmth, perched on the edge of the pavement. A group of Kenyan ladies strolled past, their wheely-suitcases fitted firmly on their heads. “Karibu Kenya”, they announced. It had been a long journey from the dusty heat of Kabul, where I […]
Along with ensuring the safety of our Project Workers (PWs), school visits are amongst the most important things that the Summer Team do. They are an essential part of our model, ensuring that every year we have a great group of partner schools with whom to work; schools that will keep the Project Workers safe, and work hand in hand with them to improve the quality of education for their students. First off, a 90 […]
Landing in Kenya with my enthusiasm and passion, I have been experiencing all kinds of different things in this unique country for the past month. I got to encounter different people and come across cultural specific moments in central house, schools and downtown, exploring the small county Kakamega as a college student from China. Jackie Chan and Ching Chong Chan Being Chinese in Kenya makes up loads of special moments of the experience. For example, […]
My experience with EPAfrica has taken me straight to my role on the 2018 summer team, a volunteer coordinator in Kakamega. Before I arrived three weeks ago, one of the main sentiments that had stuck in my mind from the website was that this, my sixth time in East Africa, was another ‘opportunity for personal development’. I did not, however, anticipate that this development would be so plainly visible in the age estimates I have […]
