Activities
US Embassy (August 7th) Memorial Park: On August 7 th, 1998, a car bomb exploded outside of the then United States of America’s Kenyan Embassy located on the corner of Moi Avenue and Haile Selassie Avenue in Nairobi, causing the deaths of 218 innocent people and injuring thousands of others. This site was donated to a Trust charged with turning it into a
memorial park as a tribute to the victims of the terror attack, but also as a place where the public could be educated about the futility of violence and the essence of peace. The August 7 th Memorial Park and Museum was officially opened to the public on 7th August 2021. It comprises a landscaped garden, a memorial wall, a museum and conference facility, and several other features that hold symbolic meaning relevant to the tragic event. Participants will visit the
memorial park established in honor of the hundreds killed and the thousands injured on that fateful August day.
Ubuntu Life Foundation : The Ubuntu Life Foundation (formerly Comfort the Children International) grew out of a friendship between its two co-founders, Zane Wilemon and Jeremiah Kuria, who are pastors in Texas, USA, and Mai Mahiu, Kenya respectively. Throughout countless conversations, the two co-founders began to talk about how they could serve the local community, especially those living on the margins of society. Ubuntu Life Foundation was born out of these conversations. Ubuntu Life Foundation offers access to essential healthcare to children, especially those living with disabilities in Mai Mahiu through its team of healthcare workers and also holds quarterly clinics with teams of volunteer doctors from the US. The Foundation also offers educational programs such as school feeding programs and runs a
wellness center that offers occupational therapy among other health programs.
Hell’s Gate National Park : Visit Named for the intense geothermal activity within its boundaries, Hells’ Gate National Park lies to the south of Lake Naivasha and is a remarkable quarter of the Great Rift Valley. The park, which is mainly comprised of savannah ecosystem, harbors a wide variety of wildlife and is an important home of the lammergeyer (the Bearded
Vulture). The park is characterized by diverse topography, including towering cliffs, gorges, and stark rock towers carved by the flowing waters of a prehistoric lake that fed early humans in the Rift Valley. Participants will have the opportunity to hike the cliffs and gorges in the park and learn about the history and importance of the park to the surrounding communities. They will also visit the neighboring Olkaria Geothermal Stations which generate geothermal power underneath Hell’s Gate from the area’s hot springs and geysers
Boat Ride on Lake Naivasha : Lake Naivasha is a beautiful freshwater lake, fringed by thick papyrus. The lake is almost 13 km across, but its waters are shallow with an average depth of five meters. Much of the lake is surrounded by forests of the yellow-barked Acacia Xanthophloea, known as the yellow fever tree. The waters of the lake draw a great range of game to its shores. Boat trips on the lake are widely available and are a great way to spend an afternoon or morning. Sunsets are always stunning, with the haunting call of the Fish Eagle high over the Lake bringing the day to a perfect ending.
Spear Throwing Challenge with Maasai Youth : Traditional spear-throwing competitions are deeply rooted in the Maasai culture. In the olden days, spear-throwing competitions were a means for Maasai warriors to compete against each other as well as provide training for the youth in lion hunting. Throwing spears at targets improved their stamina, physique, and aim. In modern times, Maasai no longer hunt lions, and spear-throwing competitions are now used for sport and fun. In the interest of increasing intercultural competence, participants will engage in a spear-throwing challenge with the Maasai Youth.
The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust – Elephant Orphanage : The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, established in 1977, operates a project that rescues and rehabilitates orphaned elephants and rhinos and returns them to the wild. The orphanage also embraces other measures that complement the conservation and preservation of wildlife such as anti-poaching, safeguarding the natural environment, providing veterinary services to animals in need, as well as enhancing community awareness. At the orphanage, participants get to learn about these initiatives, as well as hear first-hand from the caregivers about the process of rehabilitation, its challenges, and successes. During the one-hour session at the orphanage, participants will also have an opportunity to see the residents of the orphanage.
The Giraffe Center : The Giraffe Center located in Nairobi is a project of The African Fund for Endangered Wildlife Kenya (A.F.E.W. Kenya), a non-governmental and non-profit organization. The Fund’s main objectives are to provide conservation education to the youth as well as advance conservation efforts of the endangered Rothschild Giraffe which has lost its natural habitat in Western Kenya to agriculture. The center has become a world-famous nature education facility that hosts thousands of learners every year. At the center, students have the opportunity to engage with environmental educators as they get to learn about the Rothschild Giraffe, one of the most endangered giraffe subspecies, with only a few hundred members in the wild. A walk around the education facility gives the participants a rare close-up encounter with these amazingly tall creatures, as well as a chance to learn about conservation and gather interesting facts about the giraffe.
Cultural Arts Centre Dance and Drumming : Workshop The Cultural Arts Centre in Arusha, Tanzania was developed by Tumaini University’s Music Department with support from the European Union Development Fund between 2014 and 2018. It is located in Makumira, just behind the University. The Center aims to preserve and develop Tanzania’s music culture by
acting as a base and archive for music research and documentation, as well as for running programs that empower and train up-and-coming artists and performers in the country. Participants will participate in a drum workshop which will be followed by lunch at the Cultural Arts Center and an afternoon dance workshop, at a Fig and Oliver restaurant, which will expose them to different dance practices in Tanzania and the wider continent Maasai Medicine Walk: Participants will take a leisurely late afternoon walk through the land surrounding the Isoitok campsite. The group, led by a local Maasai guide, will walk to one of several viewpoints overlooking Lake Manyara and The Great Rift Valley, and they will learn about the various root and plant extracts used by the Maasai to treat ailments of all sorts. The local Maasai guide will be available to answer any questions along the way. The walk concludes with a view of the sunset behind Lake Manyara.
Ngorongoro Crater Game Drive : The Ngorongoro Crater is a prime game-viewing area, making it one of Tanzania’s major game-drive attractions. The crater was formed when a volcano collapsed during the formation of the Great Rift Valley. Within the crater, large herds of zebras and wildebeest graze near lions, leopards, elephants, and black rhinos. Just outside of the crater rim, Maasai herdsmen co-exist with the wildlife in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania’s northern region. Participants will have the unique opportunity to descend into and go on a game drive in the crater, thereby exposing them to wildlife, including the Big Five, and biodiversity for which the country is known.