Teaching English in Rural Schools in Kenya

Project At A Glance

Location: Nairobi , Kenya Start/End point: Nairobi Food: Local food (3 times a day) Room: Host family or hostel Date: 4 weeks ( June 25 - July 22, 2012) Program fee: $2269 for 4 weeks (including 5 days of Safari)

Project Summary

In Kenya, income level creates a large gap amongst school children’s quality of education. Most upper-class children receive exemplary English instruction. However, children of poorer families and communities, who cannot afford expensive English instruction, lag far behind. This lag creates an even larger rift as children progress through their schooling and eventually into the workforce. Opportunities exist for those with strong English skills. IFRE Volunteers strives to bridge this chasm to offer quality English instruction by collaborating with local rural schools. Volunteer teachers in Kenya are a prized and welcomed resource! As a teacher volunteer, you will work in the rural schools mostly work under the direction of the head teacher.

Skills/Qualifications Needed

NO specific skills or qualifications are required. However, some kind of teaching certification or education degree is appreciated. A major in science, math or computer oriented classes is also preferred if you have no teaching education/credentials. Volunteers must have passion and interest to help children and improve their education.

Volunteer Responsibilities

Volunteer teachers in Kenya focus mainly on teaching English to local children in primary, middle, or high schools. If you are skilled, you can teach math, science, or other subjects. Most classrooms are crowded in Kenya. The number of the students ranges from 40-60. Most schools have a local English teacher in Kenya. He/she is the main English teacher, so much of your time will be spent working as assistant to the local English teacher. However, if you are confident, the local teacher finds you capable or if you have teaching experience, you may teach independently. In Kenya, there is a planned English curriculum, so you will need to follow the course outline. Volunteer teachers generally teach 3-4 hours a day.

Room/Food/Supervision

IFRE manages living accommodations, provides meals and supervision for volunteers for the entirety of their stay in Kenya. During the volunteer period, most volunteers stay in our safe and secure Nairobi homebase. IFRE’s Nairobi homebase is located in a beautiful area nearly 30 km from the Nairobi (Jomo Kenyatta) International Airport in the Thome 1 Estate in the Kasarani division of Nairobi. The estate is very safe and manned with onsite security. It is a clean, sparsely furnished home but will meet all your needs as an IFRE volunteer. It is close to the local bus station.

In the Thome 1 estate you can see beautiful British style houses which belong to some wealthy families of Kenya. Many business families, high ranked government officials and people with high social status live in this village. The nearby local bus (matatu) station is only one km away from the homebase and it is easily accessible by walking. This matatu runs to downtown Nairobi and it is approximately 15 km from IFRE’s homebase in the Kasarani division. The matatu (van/bus style taxi) fare should be approximately $1 one way. Useful amenities within 2 km of the IFRE homebase are an internet café, restaurant and supermarket. The local police station is also located within approximately 2 km from the IFRE homebase.

Occasionally, depending on volunteer traffic, available projects or distance to a volunteer’s assigned project, we may also place our volunteers with carefully pre-screened host families. Our host families are socially respected and are experienced with hosting international volunteers. They have strong interest in our volunteers’ safety and well being and demonstrate this with caution and care. In most host family situations, volunteers will share a room with another volunteer of the same gender. Another viable option is an at-orphanage stay. Many orphanages in Kenya have set aside special rooms to house international volunteers. Volunteers who have stayed with a host family or at an orphanage describe an enriched experience as a result of having done so. Once you have applied for program placement, you will find the specific details of your accommodations in your personal placement documents for your project volunteers are provided three meals a day. Kenyan foods include ugali - a porridge-like mash made from corn meal; chapatti - bread similar to a tortilla made from wheat flour; irio - a mash of corn, beans, greens and potatoes; rice. Due to monetary constraints, for the volunteers who arrive earlier or who want to stay longer, it is impossible to offer extra accommodation or food.