Volunteer in Kenya

Volunteer at IPI Community Project in Kenya

Women making jewellery

Our Kenya volunteers programme offers you a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in Kenyan life and culture while gaining first-hand experience of working with an internationally-respected grassroots organisation that is dedicated to developing cutting-edge community empowerment and sustainable development solutions.

Based in Meru County, our local partner, International Peace Initiatives (IPI), was founded 15 years ago by Dr Karambu Ringera in order to mitigate the effects of poverty, HIV/AIDS, and discrimination in the area. It now provides a range of innovative programmes to support and advocate for women and children affected by these issues, improving impoverished mothers’ health and livelihood opportunities, and supporting their children’s care and education. IPI also runs the Kithoka Amani Community Home (KACH), which provides a caring, family home for children who can no longer rely on their own family’s support.

Children outside Kithoka Amani Community Home

By volunteering at IPI, you can use your talents and skills to enhance the lives of vulnerable children and contribute to the local community, getting involved with women’s empowerment activities, skills-training workshops, and eco-agriculture.

We first met Dr Ringera in 2011 at the Findhorn Community. Her vision and her dedication to improving the lives of women and children struggling with poverty and illness inspired us to develop a partnership with IPI. Since then we have built a strong relationship together, developing a successful child sponsorship programme and supporting a series of women’s skills-training workshops.

Thanks to that close partnership, we can offer you a personal and meaningful volunteer experience. We take the time pre-departure to get to know about your individual skills, talents and hopes for your time overseas. We then work closely with our colleagues at IPI to ensure that the tasks you are asked to do are genuinely useful, and tailored to your own educational, professional, and personal goals. Depending on your interests and experience, the work you will do could include one or a combination of any of the following:

Caring for the children who live at KACH.
Assisting with women’s skills-training workshops.
Working on IPI’s organic farm, learning about permaculture and sustainable agriculture.
Assisting with lessons at local schools.
Constructing eco-buildings at IPI’s new Tiriji Eco-Centre.

My main purpose of coming to Meru, Kenya was to learn from this wonderful and courageous woman Dr. Karambu Ringera, who believes that problems are opportunities in order for people to grow and move forward with their dreams. The children here are amazing and the people very hospitable. It’s true that my educational background gave me the information I needed to understand the process of development, but being here has helped me to better understand and participate in development on the ground. And it’s a better feeling.
Rita Togba - International Development Graduate, SOAS, University College London, Volunteer in Kenya, 2015

Please read on for further details of what to expect, what you will do, who can volunteer, and how to apply.