My time in Mombasa has taught me all over again the importance of the basics - safe water to drink, food to eat and shelter. With these things in place, the education that volunteers are part of delivering to the local children is paramount to improving their livelihood.
Everyone will have a unique experience on the project, and for me, the best thing was being able to teach children to read. I am so glad to have been able to test the children's literacy and then replicate the 1:1 reading program designed by past volunteers Paul and Mary.
A typical day for me would be geting up and out of the apartment to leave for school at 7.30am. The early starts are easy to get used to, in part because the morning light is so bright. The rooster in the house provides a convenient wake up call in case your alarm doesn't work! Then the walk to Precious Vision winds its way through the village and takes about half an hour.
Once at school, there is the morning parade (assembly) and then classes start at 8.15am. At morning break time, all the volunteers and local teachers might have chai together or you can go to the local cafe for a cold soda. Lunch is either at school with the local teachers, or at the local cafe. it's simple food, but quite tasty. I ate a lot of a dish called maraghwe which is beans, chapattii (bread) and sukuma (greens). When school finishes for 3.15pm, I would either go to the local shopping centre for a coffee, check my emails or pick up some snacks at the local supermarket. For anyone worried about the availability of Western style items in Mombasa - everything you can think of is available there! The supermarket is HUGE and knicknamed Snackymatt.
Make the most of your weekends too - there are many places you can travel to within a few hours of the Mombasa base. Shimoni, down the South Coast where another GVI project is located was a particular favourite. You can go on an organised, guided forest walk, go snorkelling and dolphin watching at the world famous marine park, or do a homestay in Mkwiro village, Wasini island, Including taking part in a traditional swahili cooking class and having an amazing meal with a local family.
I hope you enjoy your time in Kenya - I would not have changed it or missed it for the world.
Rachel Loutit
Making a difference - daily life on the Mombasa Project
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