Kenya Trip 2024
Team Ngiri have arrived safely at their first camp. For the next three days our pupils will be working with the Kenya Wildlife Service around the Nairobi National Park on wildlife projects.
They planted over 20 Yellowfever Acacia trees in the Wildlife area. After lunch, the team picked up an amazing 33kg of litter, most of it being plastic. They also built a Gabion, which will help prevent further erosion of land due to flooding. In addition, they have helped to install anti-lion lights at a local homestead. On the way back to camp they were lucky enough to encounter just some of the local wildlife.
Next, Team Ngiri completed their acclimatisation walk to prepare for their Mount Kenya trek, to ascertain how the group will do on the challenging trek. The team were back at camp half an hour early, which was great!
The start of our five day trek up Mount Kenya begins today! Just to let you all know there will be little, if no signal by the end of today’s trekking, so we will update you all again when everyone is back down safely. The first day of the trek took the team to Old Moses, with a height of 3000m. The second day took the team to Shiptons, climbing to a height of 4200m. Whilst at Shiptons, the altitude started to become an issue, with some of the team being unable to complete the acclimatisation walk the next day.
Day four was an early start for the team, with a 3am set off time. Unfortunately at about 4500m, due to illness in the team, the really difficult decision was made to turn back to Shiptons. The teachers and staff all involved in the trek were extremely proud and impressed with how well the team worked together, reaching a height of 4500m is an incredible achievement! Whilst obviously there was disappointment to complete the final part of the trek, team safety is always a priority. The team are enjoyed a few days of relaxation before they moved onto the next camp.
Team Ngiri said farewell to the Rift Valley adventures and were on their way to their next camp! First, they had a much deserved stay over with a bit of luxury to help with recovery from their mountain exertions. After an early start and a long journey, our pupils landed safely at their next camp! The team were there for five days, taking part in a range of community and environmental project work.
This morning, our pupils were 'kidding around' deworming goats. They had to first catch the goats, then decide their size and how much medication to give, then administer the medication and paint a number on them. They were so brilliant that after deworming 77 of them, there were no more goats left to do!
Team Ngiri helped construct an elephant defence fence. Elephants will quite literally eat and trample their way through crops in search of water. To protect crops from them, a fence of small metal sheets is constructed. A hole is made in the metal, so a wire can pass through. This hole makes a sound in the wind and shines when it moves or sun reflects off it, both of which the elephants don’t like. During the afternoon, one of the team made a new friend, and donated his Wrekin cap to him!
However, it’s not all work for Team Ngiri! The team relaxed on sunset rock, a wonderful spot to see the amazing Kenyan sunsets.
The team had an early wake up call for an exciting trek up to the Marungu Hill Conservancy. Here they were taught about the uses of some of the local plants and how they're used for treating Malaria, Pneumonia and wounds. Our pupils were also taught about the history of the local caves and how the area was affected by the First World War. From the caves there was an amazing view of the Rukinga Conservancy. From there, the team worked with local Rangers to build shelters, fire arrows and create a fire. The team split into three teams and were awarded points for each activity. Congratulations to Team 'Ziggypig' for their win!
Team Ngiri met with a local women’s group, who spoke about the history of the group. They explained how their work and products they make, which are supported by Camps International, to help them support their families. This includes self-micro-financing, which enables growth of local businesses and empowerment of the women. Pupils were greeted by traditional dance and music on their arrival, followed by workshops in beaded bracelet making and elephant poo paper making, both of which the women sell to make money.
Next, Team Ngiri arrived at a local school for a day of project work. The team were split into three groups, with each group having the opportunity to paint the interior of a classroom, mix cement to make bricks or plaster a wall. All of this work was, at times, made a little more difficult due to the amount of over excited local children literally clinging on to the team and their wheelbarrows! It was all great fun with lots of fantastic project work being completed. The end of the day saw a friendly football match, which ended 1-1, with Wrekin narrowly losing 3-2 in a penalty shootout! It was a superb day with lots of fun and interaction with local children.
This morning, the team have been on a conservation drive, counting the animals they've seen and recording their location. Among the animals were giraffes, mongoose, baboons and oryx. The highlight, was they came across five bull elephants at a water hole! What a wonderful sight to see!
At the weekend, Team Ngiri enjoyed a Safari at the Tsavo East National Park. They had close encounters with a number of amazing animals including oryx, zebra, giraffes, elephants and even hippos! The team then travelled to a local Maasai village and joined in with their famous ceremonial jumping dance, before having a tour of the village and buying handcrafted jewellery made by the ladies of the Maasai tribe. It was an unbelievable day that will live long in their memories!
The team said their farewells to the superb Camp Tsavo and have then travelled south to Diani Beach. They will spend the next couple of days looking at the effects of plastic in the oceans and on beaches, whilst also enjoying the beautiful surroundings having some much needed R&R.
Team Ngiri then left Diani Beach and have arrived safely at their final camp. They had a tour and a safety briefing, before heading out to have a look at the project work. Over the next two days, they worked on a local Mama’s house. The house is being built for a young mother who has no family and nowhere to live. The team will be working to complete as much of the wall building as they can. When the work started they first dug out sand in preparation for mud making! After a slow start due to a massive downpour, the team made excellent progress on Mama’s house. Making multiple smaller mounds of sand and adding water to make mud, the mud is then moulded in the hands to smaller balls, and then placed between the walls made of bamboo sticks. The walls of the house they worked on have also been prepared by sawing off any excess bamboo to make the walls straight.
The team worked tirelessly over the last two and a half days, to improve the house being built for a young mother and her child. The team finished building all of the walls and plastered half way up the outside walls. They have done fantastically well, and we hope the next team will finish the hard work done by our pupils, so that the young mother and her child can move in as soon as possible.
Next, Team Ngiri visited a local forest where they were given a talk by a local tribe’s elder. They were told about the tribe and how they live as a community and the importance of the forest. When they got back to camp, they had a talk about the importance of coconuts and their uses. A local worker then demonstrated how they climb the trees to remove the coconuts and then they tried local, fresh coconut milk and flesh.
Sunday saw Team Ngiri arriving at Diani Beach for the last day of their expedition, and a last bit of R&R before starting their journey home. What an incredible experience they have all had, with a wide range of project work being undertaken. Building Gabions, planting trees, helping with lion and elephant defences, collecting data on animal numbers, painting classroom walls, plastering walls, building flowerbeds, as well as brick making and helping to build a Mama’s house. In addition to fantastic project work, they’ve been on a safari, as well as the incredible effort on the ascent of Mount Kenya.
Team Ngiri have been an absolute inspiration and have given 100% to everything they have been asked to do! Even in the face of adversity when things didn’t go to plan, heads never dropped and they dusted themselves off, showing true Wrekin spirit. Old friendships have been strengthened and new friendships have been made. We cannot be more proud of them, and every camp leader has expressed just how amazing our pupils have been.
A huge congratulations to everyone who took part in an amazing expedition!
