AS any smart project manager will tell you, outcomes need to be measurable – and while there are probably lots of facts and figures that could demonstrate our recent impact as volunteers in Kenya, the biggest and most welcome was Alice’s beaming smile.
I was one of 12 Islanders who recently volunteered to join a Jersey Overseas Aid community work project – helping to build a three-room house in a rural part of Kenya’s Central Highlands.
And if one ever needed tangible evidence of how the project would make a difference, there was its recipient: Alice, who was bursting with excitement at swapping her leaky, single-room corrugated iron shack for a solid brick home, complete with windows, a sturdy pitched roof, proper toilets and a rainwater tank.
Mother-of-four Alice, who was widowed not that long ago, was there every day during our five days on site; after all, it was her land and this was her home.
However, Alice was never alone because the whole community of Muramati – a remote village in the shadows of Mount Kenya – came out to support her and help with the build. It had those friends and neighbours who had chosen Alice, through a committee, as a worthy recipient of a new home.
JOA organises several community work projects each year. It is just a small part of its work but arguably one of its most visible as it offers Islanders the opportunity to volunteer to make that tangible impact, improve understanding in both directions, and demonstrate that Jersey is serious when it comes to supporting global development.
Other projects this year are taking volunteers to Malawi and Nepal; our group was originally going to Zambia but our partner charity on the ground, called Habitat for Humanity, had to make a last-minute change of plan due to safety concerns.
Fortunately, they had other projects in Kenya, and the speed with which they set us up there – expediting Alice’s build plans so that we could join the project – appeared effortless.
We arrived on site to see that Habitat for Humanity’s own artisans – wonderful, skilled individuals whom we worked alongside for the following week – had marked out the L-shaped 35 m2 house with shuttering ready for its concrete base to be laid.
However, before we got stuck in, there was the not-insignificant matter of the warm welcome from the village: no sooner had we stepped out of our buses, we were all led into song, dance and prayer by the smiling, effervescent people of Muramati.
That greeting will stay with the 12 of us for a lifetime, I have no doubt. If only it could be bottled up and shared worldwide.
However, it was soon down to business as we set about laying the foundation slab: first tipping rocks into the base, then mixing concrete, cutting and laying reinforced bars, and finally pouring the concrete from wheelbarrows.
It set the pattern for the week: working alongside the community, sharing laughter and stories along the way. It was graft for sure, but somewhat ironically, the temperature where we were – just a few kilometres from the equator – was far lower than in Jersey, which was experiencing its near-40 degrees heatwave that week.
During breaks, we were able to play football and games with the children of the village, who were on school holidays. Later in the week, we had a full-blown international football match, played on a rather challenging ‘pitch’ alongside Alice’s rapidly emerging home, with Jersey coming out 2-1 winners against a quality Kenyan side.
From day two onwards, once the concrete slab was set, course after course of grey bricks rose up with the combined JOA / Habitat for Humanity / Muramati team mixing mortar, moving, cutting and laying blocks, preparing and then pouring a concrete reinforced ring beam, and building a separate toilet block.
It was satisfying each evening, when leaving to return to our base in the regional city of Nanyuki, to see the progress of each day as Alice’s new home started to look like one.
That satisfaction was only enhanced by the sharing of experiences and banter among the 12 of us, who each brought their own skills and experience to Kenya. We had a policeman, student, nurse, HR professional, accountant, lawyer, and civil servants among our number – all of them invested, unflagging and willing to learn from our wonderful hosts and their colourful, vibrant country.
We had hit the ground running thanks, in no small measure, to our leader Rob Moy, who had organised several get-togethers before our departure to Kenya – ensuring that team spirit existed even before we had gathered at the Airport.
A cliché, maybe, but we arrived as volunteers but left as friends and confidants.
There were many memories: the camaraderie of everyone coming together to form a human conveyor belt to move blocks around the site; the sense of achievement in completing nine courses of blocks; everyone divvying up responsibilities to prepare for and lay the ring beam; and the growing relationship between local and visitor.
Away from the site, we visited Habitat for Humanity’s local office in Nanyuki, where we heard about their various projects designed to house and empower communities in the region.
Towards the end, we also visited two completed homes nearby, to see and hear how our efforts, and those before us, had played a small part in improving lives in this area. Once again, the impact was there for all to see: in smiles, whitewashed walls, solar-powered lighting, functioning latrines and fresh water on tap.
We left the site in the same way we arrived: immersed in song, celebration and unity. During one dance, each of us was presented with a kikoi – a colourful, rectangular piece of fabric that can be used as a sarong, scarf, shawl, sling, beach towel or whatever you want it to be.
It was a generous gift from a community that, in one sense, had very little but, in another, had so much – which is why these exchanges are so worthwhile. Their community leader seemed genuinely touched at our gift of the Jersey saltire, hopefully now fluttering over Alice’s new home.
Reflecting on the nine days I had in Kenya, it certainly focused the mind on the importance of relationships, teamwork and community; we do achieve more by working together.
It also put the everyday gripes, pressures and problems into perspective and helped promote a sense of gratitude for what we have in Jersey. Equally, there was an appreciation that, despite materially having so little, the people of Muramati also have so much: each other, for a start.
That community and our temporary partnership with it was as important as the build itself. The trip created memories and shaped perspectives that will hopefully last as long as Alice’s house.
JOA will be holding an open evening for anyone thinking about joining a community work project next year, which will be held on Wednesday 30 September at the Royal Yacht Hotel. More details will follow.
As well as organising community works projects for Islanders, JOA also offers development grants in five sub-Saharan countries and Nepal; it gives grants to Jersey charities, and humanitarian grants in response to emergencies, such as the recent earthquake in Venezuela.
Aside from community projects, its volunteering work includes offering professional placements, bursaries, internships and opportunities with the United Nations.
