Our UniBreak volunteers hit the ground running in Kenya

Week 2: This week we begun work on our projects around the village, which we had been eagerly awaiting. There were a few groups working on different aspects of the projects- some were putting up a fence, some were making and painting gates, and our group embarked on the building of a community hut, which meant a lot of land clearing and digging over the full 5 days.

None of us were prepared for how challenging, but equally as rewarding, the project work really is. By the time Friday rolled around, we were all exhausted, but were able to look back on what we had accomplished in such a short amount of time. We could clearly witness the contribution we'd made to the community, in our own small but long-lasting way. As a reward for our efforts, a group of traditional African dancers performed for us an array of energetic and vivacious dances, giving us a true taste of the musical culture. On Saturday night, we all got the opportunity to ditch the work clothes and shovels, dress up a little bit and hit the dance floor at Forty Thieves- our first glance of the Kenyan nightlife. Week 3:

On Monday we commenced our final working week at camp Muhaka, and embraced, for the last time, the friendly atmosphere of the little village. We worked on rendering and painting a toilet block for the Islamic primary school. We awoke on Thursday morning, buzzing with anticipation for the journey to camp Tsavo- a camp nestled beneath a canopy of acacia trees, and surrounded by vast savannahs and African wildlife. All the one month volunteers said our goodbyes to those staying for two and three months, and set off on our travels to the distant but alluring Tsavo, which we had heard so much about from the camp workers and locals alike.

As we arrived, we were all stunned by the beauty of the scenery around us, and the seclusion of the camp right in the heart of breathtaking Tsavo. We were welcomed by the camp manager, Sammy K, and the project managers, Peter and Steve, who once again impressed us with their optimism and humour. Our first sanctuary management project was to clear the unwanted plants from the road so that the bus could drive us to Sasenyi school on Monday. As dusk crept across the sky, we all embarked on our wildlife monitoring project.

The aim was to collect data about the animals in the national park, but it eventually became more of a mini safari treat. We were lucky enough to encounter about ten elephants, clustered in small groups, trudging through the scrubby bushlands. They were astounding, majestic creatures, and sparked a great sense of excitement among us about working so closely with the wildlife.