Thomas Carter, another Platform2 returnee, gives us an anecdote from his time volunteering in Kenya; one that involved an innocent game of football, a terrible injury, and a mountain medical bill…

Now that I’ve been back for almost two months I am beginning to make light of my experiences in Kenya. Arriving in Nairobi reminded me of many cities in Western Europe or North America with malls, hustle and bustle, high rise skyscrapers and traffic jams. Venturing out a little further, we arrived in Kibera, the second largest slum in Africa.

‘… the family feared the worst from the estimated bill amounting to perhaps £800 – not a comfortable sum, with the majority of Kenyans earning around the equivalent of a couple of British pounds a week’

The sight of corrugated iron roofs (all equipped with TV aerials nonetheless), mud/cardboard/wooden walls. The echoing voices of children playing in every corner and the faint sight of Nairobi’s skyscrapers in the far distance.

This was just a taste of the inequalities I would see in this country during my 10 week Platform2 trip.

After witnessing the inequalities of Kibera and Nairobi, the Kisima group set off northwest around 30 miles to a village called Nderu, a far more rural surrounding where we would pick up where previous groups left off.

This was in the central province of a Kikuyu tribe dominated region in Kenya, near the famous rift valley.

Our aim was to help encourage young people to stay in primary education, by drawing teaching plans, engaging in the community through sports and other activities; as well as making general improvements to village schools (painting, desk building and landscaping). When our group was not doing that, we’d attend orphanages and nurseries, and spend time with host families.

A particular eye opening visit to a HIV/AIDS awareness group stands out - it gave many of us an insight to learn about the day-to-day struggles that marginalise women face in this very conservative and traditional country.

It’s the next part of my story that gave me an even deeper insight to the daily struggles of people around me… Whilst I was playing football with a local group of kids at a nearby church, I happened to injure a young boy who must have been only 10 years old. It resulted in a long trip to the hospital and a broken leg. I made several visits with the boy(who happened to be my host mum’s son, Peter) at Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta national Hospital, which from the outside, looked like any inner-city concrete-jungle hospital you’d find in Britain.

Expecting the worst inside, I was pleasantly surprised with its facilities and reasonably modern layout. However, the family feared the worst from the estimated bill amounting to perhaps £800 - not a comfortable sum, with the majority of Kenyans earning around the equivalent of a couple of British pounds a week. As is the nature of being a Platform2 unpaid volunteer, I was in no position to help contribute or pay myself. However, my insurance company, as a good will gesture, offered to cover the costs for the relieved rural Kenyan family.

I have to say I was lucky, and we in general are lucky - as the Western world provides us with a certain status of ‘health insurance’, a benefit that many Kenyans may never have.

Words and photo: Thomas Carter. Thomas is a returnee from the Platform2 overseas volunteering programme. For more information, visit www.myplatform2.com

To find out more about Christian Aid’s work in Kenya, click here.