As engineer-students in tropical agronomy, we will help in the development of a remote Kenyan village with the support of an NGO by :

- Managing the vegetable garden that allows the village to be self-sufficient in food

- Participating in the purification and distribution of the collected rainwater

- Taking care of the children in the orphanage

Passionate about trekking, friends since our arrival in Angers and especially students in their first year at ISTOM, we had to form a team of 3 or 4 people to go on an internship at the end of the year. It was during a trek we did in February that the idea naturally came to us to create a group together. But who are these 3 little guys ? Enzo, Loïs and Anthony : boy scouts from Angers, nature lovers, active members of the school's associations such as Human'ISTOM (our school's humanitarian aid association), Istomiel (a beekeeping association) and the school's community-supported agriculture. We have many projects in mind and we try to give ourselves the means to make them a reality.

Our school, ISTOM, forms student-engineers to solve all types of development problems, especially agricultural ones, in the "southern countries" (in Africa, South America or Asia). In the first year, we are asked to go on a Mission of Discovery and Social and Solidarity Initiative (MDSSI). The aim is to discover the functioning of an NGO and to help social and/or agricultural development in a tropical zone, so our project is perfectly targeted.

The choice of Kenya was prompted by the opportunity to support a humanitarian project, proposed by the association Human'ISTOM, in Ahero. In parallel to our internship, it seemed obvious to us to go our bit in this project of drinking water supply of the village of Kirindon. This is how we focused our research for NGOs in Kenya for our MDSSI. Moreover, this East African country is the second largest English-speaking country on the continent, which is a big logistical advantage on the one hand and will allow us to improve our English on the other.

More specifically, as part of the MDSSI, we will be working alongside locals and international volunteers in the vegetable garden to grow food to feed the people of the village. Another aspect of this project is the collection of rainwater, its purification and its distribution to the homes. We will therefore ensure that this system, which is so precious for the inhabitants, is maintained. We are also ready to participate in the renovation of useful buildings for the community. Finally, many children gather in the village, due to the presence of a school and an orphanage (hosting about 150 young people). Volunteers are asked to teach the children some maths, English or biology lessons, but also to play with them. All these missions will keep us busy during our 3 weeks in Ahero where we will be accommodated in a volunteer house.

Concerning the humanitarian project that will take place in Kirindon during the 2 weeks following our internship, we will install a sanitation and water distribution system, currently non-existent. The Maasai community is waiting for us, as well as another team of Istomians who have decided to do their MDISS directly on site, from the beginning of August. We will be staying with local people for these two weeks.

The last part of our trip to Kenya, or should we say the first part in chronological terms, is a discovery of the capital followed by a trek in scouting style. As soon as we arrive in Kenya, we plan to camp for a few nights at the Rowallan Scout base in Nairobi. We would like to meet local Scouts to discuss our vision of Scouting and to spend time with them. In particular, we would like to visit together the grave of the founder of the scouting movement: Baden Powell (a scouting pilgrimage site located north of Nairobi). As usual, we would then like to trek through the Rift Valley to get closer to the people. We would like to sleep in the homes of local people, as we do in France, but also to participate in their activities, particularly in agriculture. One of our objectives is for example to spend a day with the tea pickers of the Gatamaiyo reserve. However, we did not plan to spend any money for this part of the trip but we wanted to inform you about all the phases of the trip.

In summary, these 6 weeks (03/07-14/08) in Kenya will be as follows

- 1 week of trekking close to the local community

- 3 weeks of internship in Ahero to help in the development of the village

- 2 weeks of humanitarian project in Kirindon, a Massai village

Now that we have described all aspects of our project to you, we are counting on you to help us get going!

Kenya here we come !

Our commitments