Brighter Communities Worldwide, Kenya 2023

My Story

Last year I took a journey to Tanzania, but I didn’t expect the emotional journey it took me on. I was heartbroken by the poverty I witnessed and wanted to do something to help and make a difference but didn’t know how. I reached out to a well-established charity organization, Brighter Communities Worldwide, and told them my story. They introduced me to their programmes and the type of work they do, both in Ireland and in Kenya. It sounded very interesting to me, and I was delighted to have the opportunity to take part in hands-on volunteering that would have a real impact on the local community.

About the charity

Brighter Communities Worldwide (BCW) is a non-profit charity with over 20 years’ experience building sustainable communities in East Africa. BCW work in partnership with communities to deliver programmes that enrich their lives and help create a better future for them and their families. Their programmes are based on the needs of the community and focus on improving health, water, education, and household income.

BCW work in Kericho County, Kenya, where the population is almost 1 million. Approximately 95% of the population live in rural areas where households don’t have access to basic services like electricity, clean water, sanitation, and healthcare. 60% of the population are living below the poverty line, meaning they earn less than €1 a day.

BCW depend on volunteers working on the ground and engaging with the local community. BCW are signatories of Comhlámh’s Code of Good Practice for volunteer sending agencies.

For more detailed information on their community programmes (Health, Education, Economic Empowerment and WASH) refer to https://www.brightercommunities.org.

What I will be Involved In

This year, October 2023, I will be travelling to Londiani, County Kericho, Kenya, to work alongside the BCW staff and local volunteers. I will be assigned to the Health Programme and will be working with volunteers from Mayo University Hospital (who have been in Partnership with BCW since 2004).

There are the services my team will be focussing on;

Life Skills

We will be travelling to schools in the community to deliver the Life Skills course. This is an interactive course, and every participant is encouraged to take part no matter their age, gender or literacy skills. Participants explore values, relationships, communications in a safe space, they learn about sexuality and reproductive health. The programme takes place over 5 days delivering 11 modules;

• Communications and Values

• Relationships

• Stages of Development

• Sexuality

• Living Positively with AIDS

• Nutrition

• Family Planning

• Maternal and New-born Health

• Mental Health

• Drugs Alcohol and Addiction

• Safeguarding

The Life Skills Course is often BCWs first involvement in a community and contributes to the strengthening of trust between community members as well as the formation of community groups who focus on addressing key issues in the community. In that way, the course doesn’t stop after 5 days but continues to impact on the lives of the participants, their families, and communities for many years to follow.

Remote Emergency Care

Basic first aid skills can save lives in developing countries where quality healthcare is not readily available. For this project we will be training First Aiders so they can help save lives in their local community. The focus will be on commonly encountered injuries and illnesses and managing these problems in remote locations or where emergency response is delayed. The course uses practical solutions, improvising and adapting to whatever equipment is available so solutions can be found even with limited resources.

Smokeless Stoves

A smoke-free cooking environment is a key element of a healthy home. Using local resources (materials / tradesmen) we will be replacing open fires with a stove and a chimney to extract the smoke. The result is a reduction in respiratory illness and deforestation. The smokeless stove is more efficient as it uses one third of the wood used in open fires. This increases household income as the time saved collecting wood can be given to income generating projects. This is an ongoing programme which benefits local businesses (brick makers / chimney makers). As local installers become trained, they can use their skills to earn an income.

Fundraising

For BCWs volunteering projects the cost is divided into two parts, this is so the donors can be clear on where their funds will be spent.

Each volunteer must commit to raising a minimum of €1000 which goes directly to BCWs programmes in Kenya.

Note: If you wish to have your funds donated to a specific programme, please reach out to me directly and I can arrange this with BCW.

Personal Cost. The volunteering programme cost €2000. This includes pre-departure training, flights, food and public liability for fund-raising events. Much of this cost is borne by the volunteer but any additional funding raised up to €2000 may go towards funding the personal costs.

A small amount can make a big difference. Thank you in advance for your donation and your support.