Humanitarian Volunteers are looking for volunteers to travel to Kenya on 26 June 2016. The volunteers will work on a humanitarian project for two weeks. No experience required and no age restrictions. Supervision provided.
Volunteers will also visit the resting place of the Venerable Edel Quinn.
Irish volunteers can help. They can give hope and transform young lives. They can build friendships with these children and assist them to trust once more. They can equip them with the tools to ensure a smooth transition back into society and to a sustainable and confident independence.
Volunteers in the past have used their knitting skills, Irish dancing experience, art, languages, music, sports, and a variety of other skills to assist these children.
One recent senior citizen volunteer encouraged the children to become authors and write stories. The kids were given the freedom to choose which kind of story to write. Professional staff were amazed that the kids were particularly enthusiastic about this activity. It prompted great interaction with the kids, in which they shared ideas and thoughts.
“The slums and rural areas surrounding Nairobi, Kenya, have some of the highest poverty in the region,” Mr Buckley said. “Food — by a wide margin — is the chief concern of orphaned children, followed by access to clothing and shelter. These children do not have the support of community and health services, and are exposed to the dangers of living on the streets.”
Africa suffers from five million child deaths a year. Even for those lucky or privileged to make it past their fifth birthday, their future is bleak. Girls in particular have very few chances in life and where families have to choose between educating a boy child or a girl, it is usually the boy who will stay in class.
Girls not only take on unpaid household chores like childcare, cooking and cleaning, but are also likely to be expected to bring in a wage.
Despite the economic downturn, Mr Buckley and humanitarian volunteers continue to support projects and children by supplying them with small groups of volunteers from Ireland. The decrease in financial aid from governments and aid agencies makes volunteering all the more crucial.
Volunteers will work in street children centres in Kenya. They will assist with sports and games, arts and crafts, school studies, teaching English, farm work, decorating, or assisting generally in the operation of the centres. Their presence will be of enormous benefit to the physical and emotional benefit of the children. They will help them to trust once again.
No large fundraising. Volunteers will pay their own costs. If you can assist teaching English, or assist with sports,
games, arts, crafts or more, then you can make a real impact on the lives of the poorest and those without hope.
Contact Denis Buckley, Humanitarian Volunteers 086 8520271
