Fact Sheet - Kenya
International Youth Camp Staff Kenya, East Africa – December 2008

Nature of Project: Participants will assist as staff in conducting a youth camp for older UCG teens in Kenya. Church ministers will be the administrators of the camp. Youth Corps volunteers will serve as activity coordinators and assist as counselors. Local members will also assist in staffing the camp.

Goals of Youth Corps Involvement: The United Youth Corps is designed to help motivated and desirous young adults connect with the work of the Church through service. This dimension of leadership will be awakened and directed toward the vision of the coming Kingdom of God in which Christians will help rebuild the waste places of the earth and assist God in serving humanity. To that end, all participants should understand that their involvement in this project should lead them 1) to understand the vision of and need for the Kingdom of God, 2) to experience and live the vision of the Kingdom, 3) to identify with and participate in the “Work of the Church” and 4) to understand that by such participation, they will have become a part of something bigger than themselves. All Youth Corps participants will take part in pretrip teleconferences and postproject discussions of these outcomes.

Dates of Project: Dec. 14 to 18, 2008. Total travel dates are from Dec. 10 to 24, 2008.

Number of Youth Corps Participants Needed: Ideally—two men and two women.

Participant prerequisites:

• Minimum of 18 years of age.
• High school graduate.
• A valid passport (a $50 visa upon arrival is required from all participants).
• The desire to serve with enthusiasm in challenging circumstances.
• The ability to set an excellent example of personal conduct at all times.
• The ability to adapt to different environments and cultures and to get along well with people.
• Sufficient health and stamina to work in a developing-world environment. No vaccinations are required for entry into Kenya. However, the use of antimalarial medication is strongly recommended. A medical examination will be required of all participants.
• Experience on staff of United Youth Camps is preferred.
• The applicant’s pastor’s recommendation.

Lodging: Lodging and meals will be provided during your stay in Kenya including in a tent at the camp.

Environment: Working in the developing world presents special rewards and challenges. It offers the chance to make a positive difference in people’s lives in a much more dramatic way than in Western nations. Participants will have the opportunity to represent their individual countries as well as the Church and in a limited way help advance the cause of international cooperation. They have the chance to make a lasting impression on the youth of the Church in a developing country. At the same time, due to lesser development of the sanitation and health care infrastructures, special care must be taken to avoid illness. Personal care in cleanliness and hygiene takes on crucial importance. Vigilance in matters of food and liquid intake is also critical. For example drinking untreated water (such as nonbottled water) or eating improperly prepared food, including food prepared with untreated water, can cause serious illness. Mosquito-borne malaria necessitates additional precautions, such as taking a Malarone tablet daily, sleeping under a mosquito net, using Deep Woods Off and taking care to avoid mosquito bites. However, when such reasonable precautions are taken, the risk of serious illness is small.

Location of Kenya in East Africa

In addition, many of the luxuries taken for granted in the West, such as running water, hot water for showers, air-conditioning and television are not typically available. Participants should be prepared for Spartan living conditions and the chance for great personal growth in meeting these challenges.

Expectations: You will be expected to serve diligently during Camp Kenya, which will be tiring. The rewards will include a wonderful experience filled with challenge, teaching, example, new friendships, additional travel in the region while visiting local congregations, a two-day African wildlife safari and a changed worldview. Once you have sampled this experience, you can expect to want to return again and again.

Travel Dates: Purchase airfare to arrive in Nairobi, Kenya, on Thursday or Friday, Dec. 11 or 12. Overland travel will conclude at Kisumu, Kenya, on Dec. 23. Purchase the evening flight on Kenya Airways from Kisumu back to Nairobi and connect to your late-night flight to Europe, which will have you arriving back at your home on Dec. 24.

Estimated Cost to Youth Corps Participants: The Youth Corps program will commit to paying half of the cost of the airfare. The cost to each participant for the remaining costs (half of airfare and other costs) is estimated to be approximately $1,500.

Deadline for application: July 1, 2008.

Fact Sheet - Kenya 2008 (MS Word Document; 206k)