Lend a hand on local education and development projects in Shimoni and Mkwiro communities

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Program Overview
Life on the Program
Program Details
Volunteer Testimonials

Program Overview

The team will spend their days as an international volunteer team living and working in the breathtaking Shimoni Archipelago, located on the eastern coast of Kenya, a region known for its coral reefs, marine wildlife and coastal forests.

Volunteers will have varied tasks, ranging from local community development projects including teaching English and sustainable travel programs. GVI’s full time education staff will provide all necessary training, which will prepare volunteers for a hands-on experience resulting in direct contribution to the friendly and warm community’s development.

While on site, you will be completely immersed in the surrounding culture and your free time will provide you with the opportunity to learn Swahili, snorkel with dolphins, visit Diani Beach’s stunning views or take a safari up in the Shimba Hills.

Life on the Program

Most of your days you will work with the children teaching English or working with the surrounding community to develop their sustainable development projects. You will occasionally have the chance to teach adults and local orphans.

There are several programs that GVI operates in the area, and you will gain insight into these by living with volunteers who are working on dolphin or monkey research. In this way you can learn more about GVI’s local reach, and other projects we have going on – you may even have the chance to visit a few of them!

Your living conditions will be shared, and you will have communal areas that provide space to eat and relax as a group. You will also share the cooking and cleaning duties.

Program Details

The essential aim of this program is to make improvements to the educational standards in the Shimoni Archipelago through teaching. The daily tasks include designing English lessons with children and fine-tuning the English spoken by the local adults.

On occasion you may assist with physical education classes, creative arts or an array of other disciplines. In addition, you may work on reading, talking and drawing with the local orphanage children. There is also time provided for volunteers to prepare the next day’s lesson.

Another facet of the program addresses the sustainable development initiatives taken on by the community members. A few examples from past volunteers include alternative charcoal production programs and a local women’s craft group.

Volunteer Testimonials

I wanted to visit Africa since I was a child but I did not want to go as a tourist - I wanted to see the "real" Africa. I enjoyed the visits to the orphanage, the weekend side trip, meeting other...

Susan Bechard, Canada

I wanted to visit Africa since I was a child but I did not want to go as a tourist - I wanted to see the "real" Africa. I enjoyed the visits to the orphanage, the weekend side trip, meeting other volunteers from all over the world, interactions with the local community members, learning Swahili, African cooking, buying local crafts, etc. GVI was well organized and helped to make a difference and I would love to do this again. It also provides a unique opportunity to see another country as it really is.

Ruby Rose Langenheim, Australia

It is not unusual for me to do crazy things. However leaving my cosy life in Sydney to fly to a small island with no electricity or running water probably takes the cake. The classes range from 20 to 30+ students all of which seem completely unaffected by the fact that their exercise books are falling apart and their text books look like they were made before I was born. All of the students have this real want to learn and the determination to overcome any obstacles in their way is written all over their faces.