For the last 12 years we have run an immensely popular, voluntary 'Rafiki' programme aimed at broadening the experience of the children in Kenya & the volunteers themselves: a team of volunteers from the UK run a 'summer camp', introducing sports, arts, life skills & some understanding of the world outside their village.
The trip allows the children to engage with activities that wouldn't normally be available & it also reinforces the relationship between Footsteps & the communities we work with.
Rafiki 2017 Trip:
Rafiki 2017 took place in the last week of July and our programme this year saw us return to two schools we haven't visited for a while: Rae Primary and Magunga Primary.
Our first day in Kisumu saw us arrive laden with equipment for the week and we spent half a day carefully separating the equipment between the schools and by activity, before heading off to Rashid's home (our local project manager) to see and learn something about the culture and life of our African hosts.
We had a full programme of activities during the week which as usual included sports, music, painting classrooms, arts, crafts, kids' games, tie dyeing t shirts, solar cooking and many more.
Then on the final Friday, we laid on a fantastic sports day at Rae and invited the children from all of the other schools we support to compete in football and netball as well as the odd 'egg & spoon' race. This was the highlight of the week for the Footsteps primary schools, whose teams compete fearlessly on behalf of their schools.
It is quite the community event with upwards of 150 participants & many supporters! Furthermore, the volunteers discovered an untapped talent for 'face-painting' that turned the whole school into a sea of colour.
Many thanks to the 31 volunteers who came with us; the additional £8000 we raised as part of the trip will go towards building an additional classroom at the new Agricultural college in Katito. The enthusiasm and hard work will be remembered by the teachers and children at Rae and Magunga for a long time.
