Esikoma Community Health Project

November 2025 Workcamp

NO. OF VOLUNTEERS : 10

START & END DATES

09 - 30 November 2025

ORIENTATION DAY

08 November 2025

SAFARI DATES

05 - 07 November 2025

ACCOMODATION & FOOD

Shared Rooms / Local Food (3 meals)

LOCATION

Esikoma, Bumala Busia County

Promoting Communty Health

Esikoma Community Health Project was established by the Esikoma Community Health Self-Help Group, which has been in existence since 2016. The project has constructed a community hospital which will be opened on 25th November 2022 to begin offering health services to local community.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Immerse yourself in community life
  • Live and work with a group of international and local volunteers
  • Joins forces toward a collective goal
  • Free time on the weekend to discover Kenya
  • CIVS organizes tours and safaris to spectacular sites of interest in Kenya
  • Affordable fees which include airport pick up, accommodation, meals, orientation and 24/7 support

General Information

300 Euros

Volunteers participating in a workcamp will be paid upfront on arrival in full. The workcamp fee includes the following:

  • Airport pick up upon arrival & Airport drop off after the workcamp
  • Up to 3 nights’ accommodation in Nairobi
  • Introduction to Kenyan life through a Nairobi City Center Tour before the workcamp
  • Workcamp Orientation at the CIVS office in Nairobi or the workcamp site
  • Food (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
  • Workcamp facilitation and mentoring of volunteers by an experienced workcamp leader
  • Certificate of participation for the volunteer
  • All administrative costs 

The following costs are NOT included:

  • Flight ticket & Visa costs
  • Local travelling : from the office to the project
  • Cost of drinks like soda, beer, mineral water etc
  • Cost of sightseeing
  • Direct donations to the project

All volunteers taking part in this project will be picked up from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi. CIVS will arrange accommodation before and after the workcamp in a host family in the Buruburu area of Nairobi.

There will be a one-day orientation for all participants the day before the workcamp starts.

Accommodation will be at a host home which is about 7 minutes’ walk to the main project site. It is important that you have your own sleeping mat, mosquito net and a sleeping bag. During the workcamp, volunteers will get food from locally available foodstuffs and will share the responsibility of preparing the food.

Sleeping bag, sleeping mat, and mosquito net are necessary. You can also bring photos of your country, clothes, books, pens, toys etc

During weekends, volunteers can visit the Rusinga hills, Mafangano Islands, and Tom Mboya Mausoleum. We advise volunteers not to swim in the lake because it is contaminated with parasites.

Leisure activities’ cost are not included in the participation fee. 

CIVS Kenya organizes tours and safaris to spectacular sites of interest in Kenya. Volunteers, who wish to participate, should let us know as soon as possible in order to enable us to make proper arrangements. The fee charged is all-inclusive of meals, transport, park entry fees, accommodation and tour guiding.

The cost of a 3-days safari to Masai Mara National Reserve is 400 Euros by Tour van and 480 Euros by a Landcruiser jeep.

It includes: –

Day 1: Nairobi – Maasai Mara: game viewing drive in the evening
Day 2: Maasai Mara game viewing drive in the morning and the evening
Day 3: Maasai Mara game viewing drive in the early morning

Project Profile

Esikoma Community Health Project was established by the Esikoma Community Health Self Help Group, which has been in existence since 2016. The project has constructed a community hospital which is now offering health services to the local community since November 2022. The hospital comprises doctor’s consultation rooms, a pharmacy, a patient waiting bay, and temporary wards. More facilities are still under construction.

The Self-Help Group is comprised of volunteers operating within Busia County, with the mission of spearheading the implementation of community health, environmental projects, and development programs. The group focuses on Health and community development and other health-related issues. The group received training on HIV/AIDS prevention, VCT Counseling, Community mobilization, and home-based care giving and education from the German foundation for world population.

During this period, the trainees realized that there was a big health problem in their community. Apart from HIV/AIDS as the main problem, there were more health issues such as an increase number of orphans/ vulnerable children, and jigger menace as a result of parents’ deaths from HIV/AIDS. Most orphans were infected by jiggers, this was as a result of parental and guardian poor care. In general such children lack basic needs such as health care, shelter, education, and clothing among others.

Having realized all these problems within the community, the Community Health Volunteers decided to establish a group and named it Esikoma Community Health Volunteers (ECHV).

The group is engaging in activities like providing medical services, Jiggers eradication program, creating tree nurseries and planting trees, Health Education in local schools, and Distribution of sanitary pads to schools. The profit generated from selling the trees is channeled to the hospital project.

VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES

The volunteer will be an integral part of community life:

  • Assisting the local people to make bricks as a form of income generation
  • Jiggers’ eradication and treatment in local schools and in the homes
  • Preparation of tree nurseries and planting new trees
  • Home visits to community members and exchange programs in local schools
  • Distribution of sanitary towels to needy children in schools
  • Volunteers with medical qualifications can assist in the dispensary

In this workcamp, volunteers will have a chance to do evening nature walks, home visits, cultural meetings and games. During weekends, volunteers can visit Lake Victoria, Kisumu Museum, the Crying Stone, the equator line, and a general tour in Kisumu city. Volunteers will also have the opportunity for an early morning visit to Kakamega Rainforest, hike on the forest hill and witness a sunrise from the forest hill. Leasure activities’ costs are not included in the participation fee.

MAKE THE DIFFERENCE

EMAIL US YOUR REQUEST

WE WILL SEND YOU THE INFO SHEET & REQUIREMENTS

PROJECT PLACEMENT BEGINS

AWAITING YOUR ARRIVAL

Any Question?

CIVS will respond to any question.

ABOUT US

The Center for International Voluntary Service (CIVS Kenya) is a Community Development Organization working with local marginalized communities in Kenya to support them in their development and fight the poverty through volunteering and community development programs. 

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