Marianne Center Foundation

September 2025 Workcamp

NO. OF VOLUNTEERS : 15

START & END DATES

06 - 27 September 2025

ORIENTATION DAY

05 September 2025

SAFARI DATES

02 - 04 September 2025

ACCOMODATION & FOOD

Host Family Shared Rooms / Local Food (3 meals)

LOCATION

Kamirithu Village, Limuru, Kiambu County of Kenya

Supporting young adults with mental disability

Marianne Center Project is a training center for young people with disability.

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 required to pay the participation fee upfront on arrival to Kenya. 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 the project in shared rooms and it is important that you have your own sleeping bag and mosquito net. 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 Lake Victoria, Kisumu Museum, the equator line, and a general tour in Kisumu city. Volunteers will also have the opportunity for early morning visits to Kakamega Rain forest, hike on the forest hill and witness a sunrise from the forest hill.

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

The training center was established in 2008 to focus on the (young) adults from the age of 16 to 50 years. The center wishes that mentally disabled people in Kenya have the same opportunities and inclusion in the society. The center has proven to be an innovative project that improves the lives of many mentally challenged people through education and information for them to live life and live it to the full! The project offers activities including gardening, cooking, baking, housekeeping, computer training, carpentry, beadwork, tailoring, and arts and crafts. Other activities at the center include a nutrition program, events where students showcase their talents, open days, and other awareness activities.

People with a mental disability are often associated with black magic and witchcraft. Families tend to hide children with a mental disability out of shame or despair. Often they lock their children in their homes and, as has been reported by the Down Syndrome Society of Kenya and the Kenya Society for Mentally Handicapped, sometimes even in cages. As a result, instead of positively being engaged, a person with a mental disability is often confronted with negative attitudes right from birth, like isolation, rejection, and even abuse. Most people with a mental disability have mild to moderate mental retardation. However, they can learn and are capable of developing skills throughout their lives.

Such people however have a wide range of talents that can be discovered at any moment in their younger age. One of the major shortcomings of the current educational system for (young) adults with a mental disability is that they are too old to be enrolled in a primary school but mentally not capable of attending a normal secondary school. Establishing a training center for this group therefore gives them and their parents hope for a better future. This is where Marianne Center comes in to bridge the gap.  The project’s mission is to empower people with a mental disability and enable them to become more self-reliant, fully integrated, and accepted members of society.

VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES

The volunteer will be an integral part of community life:

  • Taking part in the teaching of various subjects (mathematics, language, writing, drawing, gardening, sewing, beadwork, computer skills and cleaning)
  • Organizing extra-curricular activities
  • General maintenance and cleaning of the center
  • Provision of guiding and counseling services to the students
  • Farm work
  • Assisting in the kitchen: cooking, cleaning dishes, feeding

In this workcamp, volunteers can visit Lake Naivasha, Hells Gate, which is about a 1-hour drive from the project.

MAKE THE DIFFERENCE

EMAIL US YOUR REQUEST

WE WILL SEND YOU THE INFOSHEET & 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. 

REACH US

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