Kenya Study Abroad Winter Session Jan 2024

Hi, I am an environmental studies major entering my senior year of college at Salisbury University and want to get the most out of my college experience by studying abroad. Full-semester opportunities are too great a commitment for me as I work a part-time job to help pay for college. Fortunately, SU offers winter session study abroad options. I am attending the Winter Study abroad session in Kenya which focuses on Ecology and Sustainability. It is a world-class opportunity for students to study, conduct research and contribute to ongoing sustainability projects hosted by the Kaimosi University. Participants will mainly be housed at the Weaverbird Nauture Research Center near Kaimosi, Kenya. Kaimosi is on the edge of the Rift Valley, a site of major geological formations, lakes, and the famous Maasai tribe.

The seminar is led by SU professor, Dr Fulbert Namwamba of the Environmental Studies Department and the Department of Geography and Geo Sciences. Dr. Namwamba is a recognized expert in water resources, environmental sustainability, and geosciences with a lifetime commitment to reforestation in his native Kenya. This semester I had the pleasure of taking a green infrastructure course with Dr. Namwamba and learned of an entirely new path in the environmental field I previously did not know of.

The course will also involve a site visit to the world-famous Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute on Lake Victoria. Students will have the opportunity to study wildlife ecology while on safari in addition to environmental sustainability while stationed at the Weaverbird Nature Research Center.

The trip will earn me 4 credits towards my degree and will run from 01/02/2024-01/20/2024. With the total at $4,406 for the 18 days I am there.

I do not by any means expect the full goal to be met, but anything will help me to afford the trip and take less in student loans with it. I am eager to get an opportunity to see how different countries handle environmental situations in entirely unique ecosystems to Africa. As some may know, I have kept African Cichlids for years and the rift lakes are from where they originate which is fascinating to me. Lake Victoria is one of these lakes that I will get to see first hand. I understand that $4500 is hefty for a trip only lasting 18 days but that is including the credits I will recieve, a place to sleep, food, transportation around the country, airfair, a safari, experience that sets me apart on a resume, and a unique one of a kind experience offered by Salisbury University that I will never forget.

If you choose to donate I appreciate it deeply and will always remember the good deed that you provided. Thank you!