Gap year volunteering in a Kenyan school is just one of the ways we help local communities during Culsans gap travel experiences. This part of your gap year adventure will definitely be more challenging than the moments you are lying on a beach or watching giraffes wonder from your shower at our Borana campsite - but you will remember the people you helped forever.
Kenyan school volunteering at Lokusero School
Lokusero School is a primary and secondary school, based in northern Kenya in the Laikipia region. Similarly to our experience on Waitabit Farm, our Maasai campsite team join us and make an otherwise empty natural space into our cosy home for 2 weeks. This element of the trip is all about a cultural volunteering exchange.
Each visit to volunteer in Lokusero School is slightly different, holding a new anecdote or a memorable moment to take home and tell your family about. On the last trip, we had a sex education moment that the students will definitely be retelling for years to come…
The one where the teachers asked for a sex-ed talk
After two days of observation and introductions, we started delivering talks to school classes in small groups. Two of our students, Josie and Lily, had wanted to join the Culsans gap year experience to make positive change and they did exactly that when they told me that they wanted to give a talk on female empowerment and job opportunities for women. It was a great idea and we were able to help connect them with a female teacher who could ensure they remain respectful of Maasai cultures while sharing an insight into our western world.
Sure enough, the teacher loved the idea but asked if they could include content on pregnancies and sexual health. Given Covid, there is an increasing issue with young teenage pregnancy in the Maasai community this year – with many girls not returning to school to complete their education after becoming accidental mothers – some around the age of 14. As with all things in Kenya, one thing led to another and before Lily and Josie knew it, all girls in the entire school were sitting eagerly in one large classroom, looking at them keenly, having a private ‘girls only’ talk. The boys couldn’t stand it! Lurking around outside the windows with cheeky and inquisitive smiles on their faces, the odd one trying to dart into the room and hide at the back, we had to explain that they would receive a similar ‘boys only’ talk the following night!
How did our sex-ed talk go in the end?
Our girls did a great job! Condoms and bananas, contraceptive pills, tampons and sanitary towels all came out with full demonstrations! The room was filled with embarrassed shrieks and laughter and also intense silent wonder and concentration. A million questions were asked and continued throughout the rest of our 2 weeks stay. It was a great triumph and the teachers were thrilled saying they themselves had learnt a lot too! It felt so incredibly rewarding to see that our students were being of intense help and value to these local women while conducting themselves with such a true sense of reality.
Our next trip departs Jan 2022 for eight weeks. If this sounds like your kind of experience, request more details here.
