Gus Robinson Developments Limited (GRD) is sponsoring a team of 8 students for a voluntary Kenyan project. The aim of the project is to construct a two classroom extension to the Ngecho Primary School, which is situated in the Gilgil region of Kenya.
The team of volunteers comprise of:
| Louisa Samuels | Medical Student |
| Daniel Henderson | Medical Student |
| Annabel Scott | Psychology Student |
| Jessica Witty | English Language Student |
| Edward Pinder | Medical Student |
| Craig Marshall | Medical Student |
| Omar Aljuhani | Chemical Engineering Student |
| Rachel Baxter | Geography Graduate |
The team have their work cut out with responsibilities including organizing their accommodations, liaising with the Project Manager, sourcing, purchasing and arranging delivery of all materials, hiring additional labour whilst trying to meet the six week project deadline. Also, adding to their workload, the students have the opportunity to teach the pupils in Maths, English, Art and Sports during their stay.
Mrs Methenge (Ngecho’s Head Teacher) and Mr Methenge (Project Manager/Structural Engineer) are said to be very pleased the team are carrying out the project at their school and are looking forward to their arrival.
The team’s first task was to arrange their accommodation with the Mburu family who own the Spring House that the team will be renting, which will be used as a project HQ for the duration of their stay in Kenya. No doubt Mrs Mburu (or Mama as she affectionately likes to be called) will be pampering them during their stay and maybe treating them to some of the local bakery products that is ran by Mr Mburu.
The next step for the team was to recruit some local labour. Their first target, was Njima Kagenyo a Foreman who has previously worked for Mr Methenge. Njima has two children that attend Ngecho Primary School and another bundle of joy that will no doubt be a pupil in the future. We are informed that Njima is a great teacher and will pass his construction knowledge onto the team of students while they are under his wing, we are also informed that Njima has a ‘cheeky’ sense of humour, which must come with working within the construction industry.
The next recruit was a lady called Damaris who, like Njima, is kind and friendly but also a very good cook, we are told, which should keep the troop happy during their working stay in Kenya.
With the accommodation and labour sorted, the team are now looking forward to getting down to business. They will be visiting the local builders merchants to negotiate prices and arrange delivery for all of the required materials. The team know that if they have any problems they can utilise GRD’s company buyer who always ensures best value, no matter where the project is situated.
The team are going to endeavour to keep GRD informed of their progress when they can make time to trek to Nairobi, which is the closest place with internet facility – So keep an eye out for further updates…
We wish he team and the villagers all the luck in the world, they will have to put in the hours in order to meet the six week deadline, but GRD are sure they will be successful and enjoy every minute of their stay.
