Moving Mountains - Updates from Embu

Moving Mountains Kenya: MMKenya undertake many projects in Embu and facilitate the smooth running of the Rescue Centre for Street Children as well as working together with County Primary School and Urban Primary School.  MMKenya is about long term sustainability, supporting people in ways that help them not only today, but in the future.  Projects are built on community ownership, sustainability and professional, responsible management delivered by our staff, the majority of whom are from the countries that MMKenya work in.  MMKenya was started by Adventure Alternative founder Gavin Bate in 1991 after many years of travelling and working in the slums of Nairobi, the mountains of Nepal and the rainforests of Borneo.

Adventure Alternative promotes tourism into the regions and areas where the charity has provided capital investment, which over time allows the institutions (such as schools, orphanages and clinics) to benefit from income and create a revenue stream. The charity assists with continual management advice, enabling the local committees to properly manage their own projects. 

The Experience: Medical student Antonia Hoyle arrived in Kenya on the 23rd of January 2011 to do her medical elective.  Before beginning her work placement she first climbed Mt. Kenya with MMKenya representatives. Mt Kenya is the second highest mountain in Africa and it was quite an adventure for her! Also on the trip was Fredrick Kiwanuka from Embu who is a friend of MMKenya and is supporting one of the kids from Rescue Centre in doing a Certificate in I.T. as he waits to join University.

Antonia is working at the Embu Provincial General Hospital and on weekends and in her free time she will be volunteering at County Primary School in the School Music Club, teaching the kids how to play trumpet and the guitar.

A word from Antonia: "Habari zenu!  I’m having a fantastic time here.  Embu is a lovely town – everyone is so friendly, the hospital is an exciting place to work and it’s great to get involved with the MM projects and enjoy exploring Embu.  Mt Kenya was so much fun – spending time in such a beautiful place with such brilliant people made me wish I could stay there forever.  Special thanks to Cyrus our expert guide, Gilbert for always being so cheerful and keeping us entertained with his singing, and Freddy for being such a Spartan, not to mention Daniel, Patrick and Elijah for all their hard work and gourmet cooking.  Working at EPGH is a real experience – the staff are all so friendly and I’m getting opportunities to see and do things that would be rare in the UK, and I must admit I’m in awe of the skill and knowledge of the interns here.  Staying in Embu now with Gilbert is so much fun – whether working at EPGH, helping out with MM projects, making new friends at the market, learning to cook matoke, soaking up the sunshine at the pool, partying until dawn or just relaxing with the boys and the guitar on the veranda;  I think I may sell my plane ticket home, and stay here forever…”