KOP’s visit to Kenya

This July Imperial College’s branch of the Kenyan Orphan Project set out for their annual trip to Kenya to see the work that their efforts had made possible. Throughout the year, the group had been finding new and novel ways of raising money for their cause, be it through nights out, tube collections, or a Valentine courier service.

It was with high expectations that the students disembarked at Nairobi airport in the early morning of July 5th. They were not disappointed by any means, and extent to which they enjoyed the experience can be easily seen from the following accounts.

The students spent two weeks in west Kenya in a town called Kisumu. They had the chance to spend one week in Ombeyi feeding centre and the next week at Oasis of hope secondary school.

Ombeyi Feeding centre

The Ombeyi feeding centre provides meals regularly for orphaned or vulnerable children. It also provides a fresh water borehole and a water management system on the site for the whole community. This centre was built by KOP funding and built by KOP students in 2007. Here the students helped with gardening, cooking and serving meals to children and then later were able to spend time with them. They also had the chance to visit some of the children’s’ family and houses. This came as a big shock to many of the students who realised the harsh realities that many of these young children face every day.

One of the students from the programme tells us about his experiences:

“I was lucky enough to visit Ombeyi feeding centre in Kenya.

This centre feeds around 80 children who are have lost one or two of their parents or have parents who are unable to look after them. There are around 3 cooks who work very hard so that the children can have two meals a day regularly.

We got stuck in straight away and helped with cooking, gardening, and cleaning and helped with serving food to the children.

What I enjoyed most was spending time with the kids and singing and dancing to the games they showed us. I also realized how hard everyone works in the centre to help these children and it was truly an inspiration..

The home visits made us realise how lucky and privileged we are. Seeing the poverty and difficulties the children face made me even more determined to fundraise and stop children having to face such situations.”

Oasis of Hope school

Oasis of Hope school offers secondary education at a low cost to very bright and motivated children from the neighbouring slums who would otherwise not have been able to afford secondary education. New dormitories were built funded by KOP which the students from the summer team painted and decorated. They took part in lessons, taught health education and discussed gender issues with the children. Many of the KOP students were very impressed by how intelligent the children were and how keen they were to learn.

Alex Lai a member from 2013 summer team had this to say:

“Oasis of Hope is a huge inspiration, having 200 very talented students, the majority of whom have had a tough upbringing. We were immersed into their daily routine from attending their lessons to doing scouts as their extra curricular activity. At the end of the week we were treated to many performances from the students, such as poetry, drama, singing and dancing. These performances showed how talented these students are and how inspirational they could be to other students around the world.

The trip has had many thoughts and emotions from excitement and joy to the realization of the harsh reality many face here, we only saw a small part of Kenya, but big changes can be made to small parts. It is a trip I would encourage everyone to undertake, as not only is it highly enjoyable but it opens your eyes more to the world.”

HOVIC

The students were also lucky to spend some time in HOVIC. HOpe for Victoria’s Children (HOVIC) is a weekend feeding programme for over 100 street children. Street children in Kenya face many hardships from lack of shelter to physical and sexual abuse. HOVIC helps these children by not only providing meals but also helps with their education development and medical care. They try and teach valuable vocational training to the children which can help them get jobs and become self sufficient so that they don not have to go back to streets. KOP also funds a number of street children through primary education and additional support for those within HOVIC in secondary education.

To ensure the children’s safety KOP also helped with the purchase of a property in Kisumu for ‘night shelter’ where up to a 100 children can sleep at night safely.

A student tells us of his experience visiting HOVIC:

“The HOVIC centre for street children really opened our eyes to a different side to the lives of children we had met so far. The children here had been through some unimaginably traumatic lives and the centre was a way to allow them to be children again. We were also lucky enough to be able to play a game of football against them, which was actually quite a challenge.”

After coming back from the projects everyday students were able to wind down and socialise at the rooftop bar. They also had a chance to visit many cultural locations such as Kit Makai, a religious place for the locals.

A student from the trip said this about the social aspect of KOP summer programme:

“Although in the daytime is extremely rewarding and enjoyable, the events in the evenings and weekends are really fun and great way to get to know everyone in the group. These include karaoke and bar nights and visiting the equator and the Masai market.”

This annual trip opens the eyes of many of the students to the ugly face of poverty in developing countries such as Kenya and how the most vulnerable people of society suffer from it. The money raised is incredibly valuable. The money raised by the students transforms the lives of so many orphans and gives them a fighting chance in life and to help them fulfil their dreams.

Background

The Kenyan Orphan Project (KOP) is a charity and society that supports vulnerable children and orphans in Kenya through health, education and social welfare projects. KOP is supported by a number of UK universities including Imperial College (since 2010) who each make a huge and valuable difference to the lives of hundreds of children.

Each summer, a group of Imperial Students form the summer team who travel to Kisumu, West Kenya, for two weeks to directly work on the projects that we support. You could find yourself teaching children about healthcare, helping to build schools, playing games with the children or helping with the feeding programmes created for street children, whilst also being able to explore Kenya. We place a big emphasis on welcoming all members and holding regular socials.

Whether you’re looking to personally make a difference to the lives of vulnerable children (whilst also seeing Kenya’s amazing wildlife, scenery and culture), an outlet for your creativity, being involved with KOP’’s wider activities (such as the Big Chill Music Festival) or being part of a growing society that supports extremely worthwhile projects, KOP has a place for everyone.

All members are encouraged to join in, whether they choose to be a part of the summer team or not, and we will help to support all possible fundraising ideas and challenges!

To find out more about us and how you can get involved, visit our stall at Fresher’s Fair or send us an email at cag-kop@imperial.ac.uk

To find out more, visit our Facebook page and join our Facebook group