It's Happening Now: Culture & Wildlife Tour 5 days

Day 1 Help at a Soup Kitchen

Getting involved in helping disadvantaged communities is both an opportunity to engage with local people and a rewarding way for travellers to contribute to alleviating the problems of poverty in Kenya.

Today you visit a children’s centre on the outskirts of Nairobi supported by us, which provides the kids with their only regular meal each day. You lend a hand by helping to prepare and distribute nutritious food, and in return will receive beautiful, happy smiles and witness firsthand how communities work together to help the hungry and most vulnerable.

Day 2 They Said It Can’t Be Done

In a developing area to the west of Nairobi, visit the Women's Empowerment Centre, which is another worthwhile project One Horizon supports. Here, local women in the area undertake an 18-month program that teaches them trade and entrepreneurial skills so they can set up their own businesses. The results have been phenomenal as the mothers are able to lift themselves out of poverty, keep their families together and transform into independent business owners and community leaders. You meet and learn from some of the proud, self-sufficient women who are involved in this inspirational program.

Dinner at the restaurants the locals love in Nairobi - we always have lots of fun and it’s a great opportunity to discuss and ask us all the questions that come to mind about the various communities and projects we visit.

Day 3 The Hippos of Lake Naivasha

Today drive west of Nairobi to Lake Naivasha, Kenya's most beautiful freshwater lake surrounded by peaceful grassy banks and fringed by thick papyrus. Along the way, stop at a roadside lookout for the stunning views over Kenya’s Great Rift Valley, and arrive at a lovely lakeside lodge in huge grounds studded with acacia trees and perhaps spot the odd antelope or vervet monkey. Catch a small boat to view the pods of hippos and abundant birdlife that Naivasha is so famous for, then back at the lodge enjoy a delicious leisurely lunch and relaxing swim in the pool before returning to Nairobi in the late afternoon.

Day 4 Grandmothers Love Their Pigs

Kenyan grandmothers play a vital role in keeping families together in difficult economic circumstances. Visit a local grandmother’s pig farm and discover how pig-husbandry provides food and financial support and the bio-gas system creates energy out of the waste to power a home. This is another worthwhile project that we support, and the initiative aims to empower grandmothers through small-scale farming. Sit with them over a cup of local tea and enjoy some joyful singing and dancing and listen to their powerful stories about resilience.

Dinner at the restaurants the locals love in Nairobi - we always have lots of fun and it’s a great opportunity to discuss and ask us all the questions that come to mind about the various communities and projects we visit.

Day 5 Become a Maasai For a Day

Spend an amazing day as an honorary Maasai by visiting a family in their village who have lived the traditional Maasai way of life for generations. It starts with a song and dance welcome where the wife of a village elder will offer to dress you in traditional Maasai shuka cloth or ‘African blanket’. Learn about traditional rites of passage from the male children of the family, or young morans, who will teach you how to throw a traditional spear and the techniques needed to survive in the bush, and listen to fascinating folklore stories told by Maasai elders.