Andrew Cooper, Executive Principal at Lutterworth College said 'we want to create memorable learning experiences at Lutterworth College & we know that these don't just happen in the classroom. 

The students and staff who went to Kenya this summer will never forget their visit. It’s clear that it had an impact on the community in Kenya they worked with and on themselves. This will definitely be the first of many such visits!’

36 students and 4 staff from Lutterworth College have visited Kenya to undertake voluntary work for African Adventures in the slum areas around Nakuru.  African Adventures directly support a range of community based projects in deprived areas around Nakuru providing volunteers and financial assistance to purchase resources.

The Post 16 students spent 2 weeks working at the Jubilee Academy and the Luchema Children’s Home both in the Ronda area of Nakuru, as part of this life changing experience.  Both projects provide free education and a feeding programme to the children attending them.  Teachers work on a voluntary basis to educate the children.

Students took on a variety of roles with some teaching children in the basic mud walled classrooms; others assisting the cook each day to prepare meals for the 100 students at each project as part of African Adventures feeding programme; others decorated classrooms and built a security fence around one of the schools to secure the site.

The group took 36 suitcases full of donations with them to leave at the projects with items ranging from clothes to books, pens and pencils as they were conscious that both schools have very little in the way of resources.  Special thanks must go to the Rotary Club of Lutterworth for their generous financial donation which together with money raised by Lutterworth College students was used to purchase text books for the Kenyan teachers, basic bedding for the Luchema childrens home and sports and play equipment for the children at both projects.

The students gained a real insight into the daily life of the children in Kenya and in the 10 days we were out in Kenya they made a real difference “The tears at both projects on the final day showed the Lutterworth students had achieved their goal of positively changing the lives of the children" commented the staff accompanying the college students.

This is the first time the College has run such an experience and it is hoped that the trip will run bi-annually with students at the college supporting the projects that they have developed links with through fundraising activities.

The trip at the start of July has been 18 months in the planning and students have been fundraising for 15 months towards the cost of the trip.

Whilst in Kenya the College students kept a blog detailing their experiences this can be found at http://lutterworthinkenya.blogspot.com