Pupils are starting the new academic year with a different view on the world after volunteering in a deprived area of Kenya this summer.
A group of Harrow School boys, aged between 15 and 17, spent ten days volunteering with African Adventures, the UK’s leading volunteer travel provider.
Led by Economics Master Will Alderton, ten pupils from one of Britain’s most prestigious private schools dedicated their time to carrying out project work at one of African Adventures’ partner schools, Love For All, in Nakuru, South-West Kenya.
Love for All is based on the outskirts of the Hilton rubbish dump, one of the poorest and most disadvantaged regions in Kenya where 5,000 families live off the land and struggle to make ends meet on a day-to-day basis.
Now having returned to class, the group say they their outlook on life and appreciation of the opportunities available to them has changed for good.
Student Seth Liebowitz said: “This trip was one of the very few life experiences through which my outlook on the world has been entirely and permanently changed.
“I found it satisfying yet also very poignant that such small contributions can have such a profound impact on people’s lives.”
In one week they installed brand new toilet blocks and septic tanks to ensure a fresh supply of running water to the school – the first of its kind in the area.
Another of the pupils, Harry Dovey, believes his view on life has changed as a result of the trip.
He said: “Working with African Adventures and Love For All was incredible.”
“It gave extreme insight into the lives that people around the world live, and actually meeting and working with the children in Kenya was extremely special and rewarding.
“I have learnt so much from my volunteering experience and my outlook on every day to day challenges and experiences will be significantly changed because of this trip.”