Help George Get a Safari Vehicle!

George Ndung’u is a safari and tour guide who lives near Nairobi, Kenya. We met George when we planned a Kenya safari with ACTS Africa in March, 2023. George was assigned as our driver/guide and met us when we arrived at the Nairobi airport. For the rest of our trip, George was with us as we traveled to hotels, sites around Nairobi, game reserves and national parks. He was our guide on the entire safari, and was knowledgeable about wildlife, plants, history and culture.

George picked us up from the airport in a modified Toyota Landcruiser, the typical vehicle for conducting a safari in Africa. The vehicle we traveled in was sturdy, reliable and well-used; it had about 270,000 km on the odometer. Safari driving is typically on rough dirt roads which would quickly shake a typical passenger car apart.

George not only safely drove us to our destinations, but also had a vast knowledge of the animals, birds and plants of the Kenya. He would often pull up near some trees or shrub and say, “What do you see on the left about 50 meters from the vehicle?” If it was something we recognized like an elephant or cheetah, we would say so. Many times it was some new bird or animal and we loved learning about the stunning variety of colorful and amazing African animals. He enjoyed finding the different species and teaching us something new.

After a few days of safari and driving through many Kenyan villages together, I asked him if the safari driver/guide job provides a good middle class job in Kenya. I had seen many poor neighborhoods, some rich neighborhoods, but few middle class neighborhoods. His response surprised and troubled me. George explained that in Kenya, most guide drivers do not own their vehicles, but rent them for the duration of each safari from a leasing agency. As a result, a large portion of the driver’s income goes to the leasing agency to pay for the use of the vehicle. The drivers have a respectable job, but no ability to move up the economic ladder.

When I asked what it would take for him to purchase his own safari vehicle, George smiled. A safari vehicle costs $80,000 USD, and the $20,000 down payment is far beyond what he could save.

After some soul searching and discussion with my wife, Judy, we wanted to help George with the down payment on a safari vehicle. We shared the idea with George and he was overjoyed. He said it would be a dream come true to own the tour vehicle, and would be a blessing to his family, his work and the community. He told me it had been his prayer that he would be able to do safaris and trips, and use some of the proceeds to support community projects.

Your support in raising the down payment for a safari vehicle will change George, his wife Nila, and their son Alfie’s lives. Please consider giving generously to George and his family’s future.

I hope you join us in this exciting project!

Steve & Judy

About George

Hello, my name is George Ndung’u and I am 37 years old. I was born and raised in Limuru, Kenya, and am currently living in Limuru, just outside of Nairobi. My wife’s name is Nila Asaji, and she is passionate about her work providing health education for girls in the local school. My son’s name is Alfie, he’s 7 years old, and he loves playing football.

In Kenya, lack of employment is such a big issue that even when someone has graduated, finding jobs is not easy. I have a background in Information Computing Technology, but after working for years without a permanent job, I met with friends about 10 years ago who were in the tour business. They shared with me the details on how to join and the need to go to school on guiding. With the passion I have had since when I was young about nature, wildlife and traveling, I felt God leading me to this area. Before joining the guiding school, I had an opportunity to work with volunteer teams at Brackenhurst Conference and Retreat Centre, and the passion kept on growing, both for driving volunteers to projects and safari excursions.

My favorite thing about guiding is every day is an opportunity to learn something new or to grow the knowledge in guiding, especially when going out on excursions and safaris. Above all, I enjoy making sure my clients have a rewarding experience, and the opportunity to show visitors our beautiful country of Kenya, the people and the wildlife.

Owning this particular tour van would change my life significantly, and would be a dream come true for sure. This will mean that I will not have to worry about providing for my family consistently and our son will have access to good education. It will also help cover my family’s health insurance consistently— this has been a challenge. This will be the greatest assurance of work and great motivation for safari driving and tour guiding as I give the best to my clients.