In Country Training

We're here for training in Kiswahili, Kenyan culture and what to expect from VSO and our employers. Some volunteers arrived last September but did not go through training, so they are joining us new arrivals this week. Pushparaj is from India and now lives in Mombasa. At 34 years of age and having training in gender studies, Pushparaj understands better than most of us how difficult life is for women in Kenya. Vini is also from India, via the U.S., and works in a village in east Kenya. Dawn is from Austin, Texas, and is awaiting a volunteer position. Gelasius is from Uganda and he works with an orphanage and school in rural Kenya.

The new volunteers are me and Ian, Tom, Heidi and Frank from The Netherlands, Hilary from the UK (she'll work as a physical therapist at a center in Dagerotti), and Lino, Mela and Sandra from the Phillipines. Lino will work near Homa Bay as the administrator of drug and rehabilitation center. Mela will work in a remote area of west Kenya and Sandra will work in business management in west Kenya. We'll hold quarterly regional meetings, which means those of us in western Kenya will see other regularly. Our next regional meeting is scheduled for April 16th in Kisumu.