The Strategic Indirect Buyer at Waterbeach-based company Xaar, spent time teaching children and handing out new school uniform and shoes.
“I already know that I want to go out to Africa again,” said Simon, who wants to thank Xaar for donating £500 to his fundraiser.
“For these children, school is their happy place – where they can get food, shelter, and an education. This is where they get to play, dance, and sing with their friends, so it becomes such a critical part of their life. That’s why I feel that returning each year to make improvements to their school is so important.”
Organised by Midlands-based charity, Derby County Community Trust in collaboration with African Adventures, the project allowed 80 volunteers to travel to Africa to help build new classrooms, renovate older parts of the buildings, and teach the children.
Simon said: “It was a life-changing experience, and it was even better to return this year to see the children again. Some of them remembered us and that was lovely.
“Many of the scheme’s volunteers returned to the Jubilee Academy in Nakuru for a second year and were able to build on last year’s work to make the school a safer and more enjoyable environment for pupils.
“We were able to see the direct impact of last year’s work, with the school now functioning better. We also found out that several of the older children were able to go on to further education, which was extremely rewarding to see as this can be very rare.”
The team assembled foundations for extra classrooms, repaired fencing, fixed the water butt and repainted many of the older classrooms to brighten them up for students.
Simon’s employer Xaar supported his volunteering project with a donation and granted him extra annual leave so he could go on both trips.
Xaar Group CEO, John Mills said: “We are delighted to have been able to support Simon’s volunteering efforts in Kenya for a second year.
“We are incredibly proud of his work and feel that he has perfectly reflected Xaar’s values on the other side of the world. Our congratulations to everyone involved in making such life-changing contributions during this trip.”
