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Embarking on my first volunteering trip into the unknown.. (Kibera, Kenya)
It seems like a long time ago when I saw Accounting for International Development profiled in a CIMA newsletter. A couple of meetings and one workshop later I found myself committing to two weeks in Kenya. What seemed like a nice idea at the time is now a reality.
I departed the UK wondering what I would be doing and whether or not it would be something useful. Would my skill set be applicable?
Day 1
I arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport early on Sunday morning. Nairobi looked greener than I had expected. It was fairly cool on the ground – I had left behind temperatures soaring to 30 degrees in UK for a cold and cloudy Africa!
Lilly Oyare of Little Rock was the friendly face to meet me at the airport and took me to the hotel, Gracia Gardens. I spent the rest of the day settling in and ventured out to the nearest shopping mall for basic provisions.
Day 2
Lilly picked me up and dropped me at the ANDY offices on the edge of Kibera, one of the largest slum districts in Sub Sahara Africa. My first morning was spent in the pleasant company of Geoffrey, an ANDY project worker, walking round Kibera and visiting people with disabilities in their homes. Kibera is an alien place, it is not possible to prepare oneself for such a visit. People packed in tiny spaces, a dusty, muddy maze of paths, shacks with mud walls and corrugated metal roofs and an indescribable aroma of burning charcoal and open sewage.
Geoffrey took me into three homes and invited me to ask any questions of the people I had just met for the first time. This was challenging and shocking stuff. It is beyond tough to live in Kibera, but for those that are there it is normal, and yet the individuals I had just met all had a disability to deal with in this harsh environment.
In the afternoon I met Elizabeth, the ANDY accountant. She was due to go into labour at any moment and had come into the office especially to meet with me. We spent some hours exploring how ANDY managed its finances, the supporting systems and control. Elizabeth is a qualified accountant (Certified Public Accountant – Kenya) and this was apparent in ANDY’s accounting processes.
Day 3: Tuesday
I was due to go to ANDY again, but Elizabeth is now on maternity leave and the Director, Fredrick Ouko, is unavailable due to meetings with DFID. So I tagged along with Lilly and went to Little Rock. First we visited a fee paying school where Lilly was meeting the head teacher to discuss this school giving one or two places to the Little Rock children. Then we went to Little Rock and I got the tour. Wow, what a place. Little Rock is an all inclusive Early Childhood Development centre, it caters for children from Kibera from as young as 2 years to 8 years (although there are older children present), and being inclusive there are a number of children with a range of disabilities. The Little Rock operation is spread across two sites in close proximity. In the second there is a Day Care Centre with a library and entrepreneurial activity in the form of parents of the Little Rock children making garments and items for selling.
I spent some time with Lilly understanding her plans and vision for the future, talking through how Little Rock is structured and works and sometimes even touching upon the finances.
Day 4: Wednesday
Again I was due to be with ANDY but Fredrick is in demand elsewhere and it was understandably important for him to respond to any activity that may result in future funding.
Instead I went to Little Rock. I spent a good part of the morning talking to Evelyn, a teacher who also had responsibility for the food and charcoal expenditure and the petty cash. Evelyn talked me through how she managed the food and charcoal activity and the supporting paperwork. It was an engaging and enlightening session but the more we talked about the various activities within Little Rock and the supporting financial processes the more I got a sense of great complexity.
In the afternoon I joined a group of Little Rock volunteers for home visits in Kibera. We met with the mothers of children who attended Little Rock. As before, a moving and challenging experience.
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