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Mon 11 Jun 2018, 09:55
Hello all,
Many Charlbury residents (in one way or another) supported my volunteering trip to Kenya. You may have bought a ticket to the Spanish style pop-up dinner that my mum and I hosted, bought a square in the numbers game that I was running in the local pubs, or made a donation in one of many other ways. First of all, I just wanted to thank all of you for your generosity and support.
Secondly, I thought I'd give a brief explanation of the work that I was involved with in Machakos, Kenya. My team (led by me) volunteered for an organisation called BLINK (Blind & Low Vision Network Kenya), who work with support groups for people with disability. Our key task was to identify and implement income generating activities with these groups. We fundraised and organised for the construction of a chicken coop and arranged training for the group in chicken rearing. We also set up a very profitable kerosene selling business in a small rural village with a different group. Not only did this create an income for the group, but it also gave the inhabitants of the village access to fuel in their own village.
A stand out achievement of our time with BLINK was the disability awareness day that we organised. We were told to expect around 200 people, but we ended up hosting over 400 guests on the day itself.
My time in Kenya helped me develop skills and experience that I can take forward into my career, as I plan to work in the third sector. It also gave me a chance for personal development and the opportunity to make a host of friends for life, which I eagerly made the most of.
Once again, thank you for your support to all those that supported me in any way. And if there is anyone who is interested in overseas volunteering, I can't recommend it highly enough.
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