This is the story of me, an 18-year-old girl travelling to Kenya alone with, a bright orange t-shirt, a suitcase full of tools and a false belief that I would be handy with a hammer. It may seem like a recipe for disaster, but really, it turned out to be the best experience I have ever had. Let’s start at the beginning:
I first met the amazing Myles way back in 2015 when I was at primary school, and he had come in to do a talk for our class all about GEF. Many years later, I remembered about GEF and got involved in volunteering with them. I volunteered at the GEF Ladies Lunch in 2022, and this is where I heard one of the speakers talk about her experience of going on a house building trip at around a same age I was then. Her speech was inspiring, and I remember thinking, ‘I want to be part of something like that’. Shortly after, I signed up for the GEF building trip. Two fundraising events, a trip to Screw Fix and plenty of reassurance about Kenya’s creepy crawlies later, I was ready to go.
Of course, I didn’t feel ready. I was 18 and going alone. I didn’t know any of the other volunteers, I had never flown by myself let alone that far before and I didn’t really know what to expect. Thankfully, GEF had set up a WhatsApp group chat with all the volunteers on it and I was able to chat to the people who would be on the same flight as me. Once I arrived at the airport, I remember feeling very nervous. I was standing at the airport café, probably looking a little lost but recognisable by my bright orange GEF t-shirt, when I met the three other GEF volunteers who were travelling with me. They were the first out of many of the lovely people who I met on the trip, and they became so much more than just fellow volunteers. Suddenly, I began to feel much less nervous (our 6am preflight pints may be to blame for that) and before I knew it, we were on the plane. Next stop Nairobi.
Our arrival could not have felt more welcoming. The entire GEF team were waiting at the airport as well as volunteers who had come on other flights. The group was incredibly diverse with people from all walks of life. We were all different ages, from different places, had different jobs, but instantly it was clear that this did not matter. We were all here for the same reason and we were all connected because of this. There was joyous reunion between volunteers who had come before and the GEF team. Kenya was like a second home for the people returning, and everyone at GEF was like family. We were a part of this now.
Our first day was spent getting to know everybody. There was a group of volunteers that were similar ages to me, all who had come with their families. This was brilliant for me as a solo volunteer because I immediately got adopted into the Dempsey family and made friends for life. But as much as I was grateful for the group of ‘youths’ as we were later referred to as, the entire group was just an extraordinary group of people and getting to know them all was a true honour.
The first thing that we did once we arrived in Karatina, the village where we were based for the building part of the trip, was visit the current homes of the families we would be building for. This was where reality set in and the severity of poverty in Kenya became clear. Many families were living in terrible conditions in one room homes, without beds for the children. There was a bittersweet feeling surrounding our visit. We knew that our work was about to lift the families that we were building for out of these terrible conditions however, it was harrowing to meet so many other lovely families in similar situations and know that as much as we wanted to, we could not help everybody. This heartbreaking realisation emphasized the importance of GEF’s ongoing work.
One of the families we were building for was Rosemary’s family. What made the trip especially meaningful for me, was knowing that Rosemary’s youngest daughter, Blessed, was the lovely little girl whose education is sponsored by my family. It was amazing to actually meet her, and I couldn’t believe we were actually building a house for her. In that moment, the impact of my family’s support and GEF’s work felt incredibly real and immediate. The work of the charity was not abstract. I could see exactly what my support meant to the people it aimed to help. Rosemary’s eldest daughter also happened to be the same age as me and through GEF’s support she was starting university just like I would be the following September. This was a particularly lovely connection, and we became great friends during the trip.
Motivated to make these homes as amazing as possible for the families that we had met, we began the real work. A particularly brilliant volunteer on the trip was our gaffer Darren, the project manager. Darren organised and oversaw every aspect the build and I am certain his efforts went far beyond what us other volunteers were able to see. His skill and capability to not only build houses but also manage a group of volunteers with limited building experience (no offence guys), was incredible. However, after a hard day’s work, his seriousness on the building site easily melted away as soon as a Tusker beer was in hand and much hilarity was had with him in the evenings. Darren is not only a great leader but a great friend to all and we were so lucky to have him leading the build.
The day on the building site was split into four sections with a morning break, a lunch break and an afternoon break. Darren organised us into different groups and we were given different tasks each day. It did not matter who we were or what our skill level was, Darren believed in us and returning volunteers taught newbies like me, what they had learned before. By the end of the trip, I had learned how to saw wood, cut corrugated iron, put in windows, hammer in nails (and fix them when they went skew-whiff) and so much more.
Helping us on the building site were also local volunteers who had a lot more skill than many of us and helped to teach us how to build. Humphrey and Gibson were two of the local volunteers. They had actually had a house built for their family by GEF in previous years and were now here to help us build more. Our group of ‘youths’ became such great friends with them. We would pick them up on our matatus (minibuses) on the way to the building site and each day we would teach them new Scottish words, and they would teach us Swahili words. By the end of the trip, we all felt like one big team. I was also lucky enough to get the chance to cook lunch on the building site with the locals. This was such a cool thing to be a part of. I got to spend a morning preparing and cooking food in giant pots over an open fire and made masses of food for all the hungry volunteers. It was great to learn more about Kenyan food and culture and to be able to imagine how the families would make their food once they lived in the houses.
The building aspect of the trip was truly incredible. It was so enjoyable, spirits were always high and hard work felt rewarding. There was always an overwhelming feeling of knowing that our work mattered. However, as amazing as the building parts were, the trip to Kenya was so much more than just that. In the evenings one of the volunteers Susie held yoga classes for us and Trish and Fi encouraged us all to partake in cold water swimming in the freezing swimming pool. Myles led those of us who wanted to go on morning runs. At night we would have our fair share of Tusker beers and 99p shots and we danced all night. These are the moments that hold such amazing memories and bonded us so tightly as a group.
Another particularly emotional part of the trip was the ceremony that we had at the end when the families got to see their houses finished for the first time. It really hit me then how much our work meant to the families and seeing how happy they were was the most rewarding and extraordinary feeling. Following the trip, James, a member of the GEF team in Kenya, sent us updates and it was amazing to see what the families had done with the land. They had planted all sorts of crops and trees. It was them who really made what was once a muddy field, feel like a home.
The building trip to Kenya was the best thing I have ever done. Before I went, someone who had been before told me that Kenya would give me so much more than I would ever give Kenya, and I think they were right. I returned with lifelong friends from all over the world, new experiences and laughs I will never forget. Myles, Gideon, Kayleigh and everyone at GEF did so much to make the trip so incredible. I will always feel so lucky to have had this opportunity. I only hope that I will be lucky enough to do it all over again one day.
