I can’t believe that we’ve already been here in Kenya for over a week! Time has been flying by faster than I could have imagined. We are now well into the swing of things with project, and start teaching in earnest at our first school tomorrow. I personally can’t wait to get going, as our first visits to the schools were really inspiring.
The logistics team this year consists of me, Lorna, and Gaddiel. Our major goals this year include making a system to accurately record the facilities and treatment available at the VCTs (Voluntary Counselling and Testing Centres) near our schools, and trying to hold mobile VCT’s at as many schools as possible, assuming student interest.
We had a very exciting meeting on Friday morning with the Liverpool VCT. Based in Nairobi, Liverpool was the first VCT to open in Kenya. They receive a lot of funding and have done an excellent job providing a multitude of resources to people throughout Kenya. Two programs in particular were of interest to us at QHO/YESS. First, they offer mobile VCT services at an extremely low cost. We met with the woman who coordinates the program, and it seemed like a definite possibility for many of our schools. The second thing that Liverpool offers is an excellent youth outreach program. They have a toll-free phone number that young people can use to contact a counselor 24 hours a day, as well as services via SMS and Skype. In addition, their message is extremely positive and progressive, and they deal with a lot of topics that are historically considered taboo in Kenya, including outreach to the gay community and post-rape victims. Pretty incredible stuff. We are really looking forward to moving ahead with a lot of what we discussed at Liverpool, and hopefully increasing partnership between YESS and Liverpool in the future.
For more information on Liverpool, check out www.liverpoolvct.org and for their youth programs specifically, www.one2onekenya.org.
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