Volunteer Abroad in the Rift Valley Province Kenya Africa Volunteering Opportunities Medical Nurse

Nov. 10, 2008 - PRLog -- Volunteer Abroad in the Rift Valley Province Kenya: Volunteering Opportunities

The Rift Valley Province is one of Kenya's seven provinces outside Nairobi. Dominated by the Rift Valley, which passes through the province, it's the largest and most rurally populated. The people of the Rift Valley are a mesh work of different tribal identities.
The towns and villages are comprised of farmers, herders, laborers and unskilled workers. The Kalenjin and the Maasai are only a couple of the communities that call Rift Valley home.

http://www.abroaderview.org/rift_valley.php

More than half of the country’s 31.3 million people are poor, and 7.5 million of the poor live in extreme poverty, in rural areas. About 80 per cent of the population, including three out of four poor people, lives in rural zones like the Rift Valley.

Kenya’s population has tripled over the past 30 years, leading to increasing pressure on natural resources, a widening income gap and rising poverty levels that erode gains in education, health, food security, employment and incomes. The causes of rural poverty include:

   * low agricultural productivity, exacerbated by land degradation and insecure land tenure
   * unemployment and low wages
   * difficulty in accessing financing for self-employment
   * poor governance
   * bad roads
   * high costs of health and education
   * HIV/AIDS

Our volunteer placements give support to programs helping orphans, education, HIV/Aids prevention and education, and outreach healthcare projects in towns of the Rift Valley province including Ngong, Kiserian, Nakuru and Ol Kajiado district. These towns are located 1-2 hour drive from Nairobi. With our volunteer program we allow you to discover the wonders of East Africa, while doing meaningful and rewarding community work.

http://www.abroaderview.org/rift_valley.php

Volunteering in Kenya provides a great opportunity to explore life in rural Africa, live and work amongst the locals and realize one person can make a difference.

We offer the following programs throughout the southern Rift Valley Province:

Program Length: From 1 to 24 weeks
Program Date: Flexible Start & End Date
Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8 hour per day
Accommodations: Host family Meals: Yes, 3 meals a day
Requirements: 17 years +, open-mindedness to new adventures.

Child Care Assistance

Volunteer in a rural orphanage or children’s center which provides meals and basic education for abandoned children ages 3yrs-15yrs. Orphanage projects are located in Ngong, Kiserian, Nakuru and throughout the Ol Kajiado district. Some of the children are orphans, some have been abandoned, but most are local children that need assistance since their parents are unable to provide for them. Volunteer tasks include assisting with daily care of the kids; including meal preparation. Volunteers play games, arrange activities, create arts & crafts projects and share their time and caring with these wonderful children. Prior experience not necessary, volunteers should have a lot of patience, an open mind and a sense of compassion.

http://www.abroaderview.org/rift_valley.php

HIV/Aids Prevention Program

Volunteers work with a local grassroots organization that is providing HIV/AIDS education and support programs to rural communities. This project focuses on providing culturally sensitive methods of awareness and education with the goal of preventing transmission of the disease and seeks to offer assistance and encouragement to those infected with the virus. Some of the activities for volunteers include: Promoting safer sex through education, assisting with home-based care for victims with HIV/Aids, providing free blood testing for the disease, woman empowerment projects for surviving widows of the community, and most especially outreach programs to those in need with food distribution, assistance with activities of daily living and providing words of encouragement. Experience in this field is not required (but a background in healthcare, disease, pre-medical students most welcome)

Health Care Program

Malaria, typhoid, pneumonia and tetanus are treatable diseases yet many still die in Kenya as a result of not receiving proper medical care. Government-run hospitals and community medical clinics are ill equipped to handle the volume of people in need of care. This role is suitable for self-directed, caring people who are medically qualified. Volunteers with medical training; doctors, nurses, paramedics, lab technicians participate in direct patient care such as diagnosing, injections, IV starts and lab work. Nursing and medical students are welcome and assist with tasks like dressing wounds, record and immunization chart keeping, helping dispense medications, helping to screen and organize patients and assisting with administrative needs or seminars. *Medical volunteers must submit a copy of their credentials or nursing certificate.

Indigenous Maasai Program

The Maasai are an indigenous African ethnic group of semi-nomadic people located in Kenya and northern Tanzania. It is estimated that 350, 000 Maasai people live in Kenya.
Although the Maasai have managed to preserve most of their traditions and culture throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, they are currently faced with great challenges, such as droughts and health problems. As with other rural communities in Africa the Maasai people are not spared from common disease and illnesses such as, malnutrition among children, respiratory infections, malaria, typhoid fever and serious diseases including HIV/Aids and TB.

Medical Program:

Medically qualified volunteers are needed to work in a community clinic to increase access to basic healthcare and promote health education in the local community. Considering the remoteness and lack of medical facilities in the area, it is difficult to provide accurate data on health problems in these communities. However, what is clear is that there are common illnesses such as:

   * Malnutrition in children
   * Eye, skin and scalp infections
   * Anemia in women (possibly due to malnutrition)
   * Upper respiratory infections
   * Malaria
   * Typhoid fever
   * Complications and death in women from childbirth
   * Remote cases of TB, brucellosis and HIV/AIDS.

Help save mothers and their children from common and preventable diseases and illnesses and Improve health care needs for the entire community. Disease such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, TB and childbirth are commonly seen at the clinics. Supplies are limited and staff is under resourced. *Medical volunteers must submit a copy of their credentials or nursing/medical school university letter.
Teaching Program:

It is estimated that less than half of all Maasai children attend schools, teaching volunteers are immediately needed to help quash this trend. Volunteers can help educate children at primary school level. Subjects taught include English, math, science and social studies. Volunteers are also encouraged to initiate extra-curricular activities such as sports, arts and crafts, beautifying the school etc.

Program Includes:

Airport pick up and drop off in Nairobi. 2 day project orientation with on-site project director. Meals and accommodations with a local host family. Our local Project Coordinator will provide project briefing, transport to the project site, an introduction to the host family, and 24/7 hr support while the volunteer is in Kenya.


1001 Dell Lane Suite B, Wyncote, PA 19095, USA Volunteer Abroad Project
Tel: 1-215-780-1845 / Toll Free: 1-866-423-3258 / Fax: 1-215-887-0915
volunteers@abroaderview.org - www.abroaderview.org - info@abroaderview.org

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We offer international volunteer projects for the globally-minded individual searching for a unique travel experience. We are a 501 non-profit international volunteer organization offering short and long term volunteer programs in developing countries