Travel with a purpose…
This is not the kind of voluntourism where you’ll be put to work badly assembling bricks or building a few walls of a school. Kenyans have plenty of talent for that. Rather this is a chance for you to learn unique skills from Kenyans and share your own as well — whether it be learning to sew, playing football, African dance, Swahili, Kenyan cooking, public health, HIV and sexual health awareness or urban design for slum upgrading.
Mathare association is a great way for you to get involved with and learn from an East African community. Mathare Association volunteer network sets you up with an institution in Kenya for you to volunteer your time. Your trip fees directly employ local guides, hosts, instructors, drivers, and contribute to the funding of the organization you choose to support. We feel that this trip is mutually beneficial on the basis of intercultural learning, however the primary effort is to assist in the capacity building of the Mathare Association in its mandate to level the playing field of opportunity between Africans and privileged foreigners. Don’t miss out on all that Kenya has to offer: it’s unique beauty, history, and challenges will teach you more than you can anticipate.
We believe that the international volunteer community is a digital community connected through the internet and social media, and so to harness the full potential of what the volunteer community has to offer, we need to become digital in order to connect the international community.
Our sustained community service partnerships ensure you’ll be connected with projects that have a positive and sustainable affect on the community. Many of our local volunteers were born or lived in Mathare, continue to be key members of the local community and understand the needs of the community.
Currently there are many local and international NGO’s involved in various projects in Mathare: volunteer to mentor children, teach after school programs, lead youth empowerment workshops, teach computer, photography and filming workshops, assist with health care, medical and health awareness, plant container gardens, counsel new mothers and pregnant women, small and medium enterprises for women, repair community buildings, and so much more.
We have a dream to bring these organisation and people who have a passion for Mathare together in a community centre in Mathare. Check out our highlighted programs for examples of volunteer opportunities.
Our volunteers include:
- Kenyans wanting to give back to the community
- International volunteers
- PHD/Masters students
- UN interns
- Young professionals
- Doctors and dentists
- Social Workers
- People with experience working with the hearing impaired
- People with experience working with people who have disabilities
Services that the Mathare Slums Association provides for volunteers
The organisation provides the following services to volunteers for a fee. All proceed go towards building a community centre in Mathare:
- Matching services with vetted volunteer placements
- Pre-vetted accommodations close to Mathare available for rent
- Assistance in finding accommodations in Nairobi
- Local guides assigned to you for the length of the volunteer assignment
- Tour guides experienced working with PHD/Masters students
- Cultural training programs
Our concern: Health and Safety for International Volunteers
- Every NGO is vetted by the Mathare Slums Community Association team before a volunteer is matched with this organisation.
- Every project is provided with a manual outlining best practices, to help them ensure that volunteers have positive experiences.
- Part of the service we provide is to match volunteers with local guides who will be with the volunteers while in Mathare, providing guidance to keep volunteers safe while ensuring the presence of volunteers has a positive impact on the community.
- Every volunteer is provided with a code of conduct document, outlining what is expected of volunteers, including details regarding dress code, being on time, and the proper procedures in the case of resigning from a project or termination from a project.
Join our volunteer community!
The Mathare Slums Community Association facilitates regular social events bringing together the volunteer staff volunteering in all Mathare projects. For people living in Nairobi and interested in volunteering, this is a great way to meet like minded people and make friends. Contact us for more information.
