A new trip!

Nakuru, Kenya Volunteer Project

Tom Bode

thomasgbode@gmail.com

503-341-4507

Project Overview

I will travel to Nakuru, Kenya, through the Experiential Learning International organization where I will volunteer for eight months. I will leave in early October, and will spend until January working with a locally run microfinance organization. In January, the local school year will start and I will teach literacy and math to primary-age students at the Pistis Education Centre. The Pistis Centre is a locally run religious organization that provides housing and education to local children.  About half of the students at the school are orphans.

Project Objective

My objective is to volunteer for institutions in Kenya that are working to alleviate poverty. I will educate young Kenyans so that they are better able to escape poverty and improve their lives. I will also assist with the daily operations of the Pistis Centre, which functions as an orphanage for a large number of children. 

While the school is on break, I will work for a Kenyan microfinance organization, which facilitates economic development and self sufficiency in very poor areas of Nakuru. Microfinance organizations offer people without credit the capital necessary to start a business. This process of developing the economy has several advantages over large, top-down aid projects that do not develop economic institutions at a lower level.

Personal Motivation & Objective

I want to volunteer in Kenya because I will be directly helping impoverished people in a way that will reduce the cycle of poverty. I will be volunteering for programs that are proven to reduce poverty and increase quality of life. This project will also be a meaningful personal experience - I will make a large investment of my time and effort in other people who I will likely never see again, because I believe we all have some responsibility for the condition of other people. To help those significantly less fortunate than myself is to acknowledge this responsibility and act on it. This project will create memories that will remind me of that obligation for the rest of my life.

Personal Background

I was born and raised in Oregon. I was active in the Boy Scouts where I enjoyed exploring the outdoors and began to volunteer in community service projects. I was awarded Eagle Scout rank in 2004. I graduated in 2009 from the University of Oregon cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science. During that time I spent a term studying abroad in Singapore. I have volunteered with the SMART program, which places volunteer readers in elementary schools to work on literacy one-on-one with first, second, and third graders. I have held several jobs since graduation and am currently working for a startup vacation rental company company based in Portland. I intend to enroll in law school shortly after returning from Kenya.

Project Budget

This is an approximate budget of the cost for this eight month project:

Round trip airfare between Portland and Nairobi, Kenya	$1,500
Program cost (includes room & board)	$3,622
travel insurance	$650
international health insurance	included in my current coverage
daily living expense ($10/day)	$2,400
incidental costs (pre-departure expenses, unexpected in-country costs, etc)	$1,000
Total	$9,172

Request for Support

I am asking for your financial support for my project in Nakuru, Kenya. Your contribution will ensure that I am able to complete all eight months of this project and that I will have sufficient funds to do so in a safe way. Approximately 90% of the program fee goes to Kenya, where it helps support the institutions I will be working with and compensates my homestay family for providing my room and board. Your financial and moral support of my project means a lot to me, and I will acknowledge your support whenever I can.

Fees paid to the Experiential Learning International organization may be tax deductible as the organization is a registered 501(c)3.

Links

Experiential Learning International: www.eliabroad.org

Wall Street Journal article on microfinance in Kenya: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303644004577523460028810528.html