Travel to Kenya: Travel Kenya with Americans for UNFPA

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Travel Kenya with Americans for UNFPA

			DAYS: 9 GRADE: I define PRICE: From $5745 per person (Includes Local Air) HIGHLIGHTS: Game drive in Lake Nakuru National Park & Maasi Mara Game Reserve Meetings with Maasai villagers UNFPA Meetings & Visits include: Minister of Gender Children & Social Development MPs of Kenyan Women Parliamentary Association & Parliamentary Network on Population and Development Director of the Ministry of Public Health & Sanitation & Head of the Division of Reproductive Health Executive Director of FIDA: Patricia Nyaudi Father Mungai of the Catholic Dioceses of Nakuru representatives of Baringo Female Genital Mutilation/ Circumcision Project Mairie Stopes Clinic Kibera & Kawangware Health Centers Nairobi Family Health Option Kenya AIDs project Agnes Pareyios V-Day Safe House for Girls ACCOMMODATIONS: Hotels/Lodges Deluxe Camp MEALS: As noted  [B-Breakfast, L-Lunch,   D-Dinner] Prices, Departure Dates and Included Services Send to a Friend Print this Itinerary

Working in close partnership with the Americans for UNFPA, Wildland Adventures is proud to present our latest educational Donor Delegation to Kenya, departing August 2010, with a Tanzania trip extension for unparalleled game viewing. The object of our delegation is to highlight the life saving work done by the UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) in promoting women's health care and the rights of women and children around the world.

The UNFPA's support in Kenya focuses on three main thematic areas: Reproductive health, including HIV AIDS prevention among the young; population and development, and gender issues. Special projects also supported include ending female genital cutting (FGC) in Narok, as well as HIV/AIDS prevention among the youth in collaboration with faith based organizations.

Participants on this delegation are also exposed to the beauty and wonder of the worlds foremost repository of game animals, and some of the most dramatic scenery in Africa. Kenya encompasses an astonishing biodiversity of mountains, coastal and savannah ecosystems, where proud native peoples reside in harmony amongst the worlds greatest herds of migrating wildlife. We traverse this stunning landscape viewing game and environment as we go, and meet with members of minority groups while learning much about the Maasai culture.

DAY 1 :  AUG 8: ARRIVE NAIROBI
On our arrival at Nairobi's international airport we are met and transferred to our hotel located in the center of the metropolis. This evening we have the opportunity to introduce ourselves and ask any questions we might have of our UNFPA escort and the local guide. An evening meal has been arranged at the hotel Overnight Norfolk Hotel [D]

The proud modesty of Maasai women is matched by their beauty and strength

DAY 2 :  AUG 9: NAIROBI
UNFPA ACTIVITIES:  UNFPA Briefing. Meet Ministers of Gender, Children & Social Development. Lunch with Kenyan Women Parliamentary Association (KEWOPA), & Parliamentary Network on Population & Development (KPNPD). PM visit to Director of the Ministry of Public Health & Sanitation & the Head of the Division of Reproductive Health.

Today we embark on an extensive overview of the issues facing women and children in Kenya and the UNFPA and their associated providers roll in the implementation of viable solutions. We start the day with an insightful meeting with the executive staff at the UNFPAs Kenya headquarters in Nairobi where we are given an overview of UNFPA programs and activities in Kenya, immediately followed by a meeting with the Kenyan Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development. We take lunch with Members of Parliament from the Kenyan Women Parliamentary Association (KEWOPA) and Kenyan Parliamentary Network on Population and Development (KPNPD), where there is an opportunity to ask questions and discuss some of the critical issues facing Kenyan women and families. In the afternoon we visit the Director of the Ministry of Public Health & Sanitation and the Head of the Division of Reproductive Health (DRH). By the end of today we should have a fairly comprehensive overview of the issues and internal struggles facing women and children in Kenya, and of the excellent work being done to address them. We return to the hotel late afternoon. Evening meal at Tamarind Restaurant. Overnight Norfolk Hotel [BLD]

	Kenya and Tanzania, the worlds richest repository of game animals

DAY 3 :  AUG 10: NAIROBI
UNFPA ACTIVITIES: Visit the Mairie Stopes Clinic, meet the Executive Director of FIDA, Patricia Nyaudi, and visit the Kibera and Kawangware Health Centers

We continue our exploration of the health and wellness issues with a series of meetings with people actively engaged in promoting the welfare of Kenyan women and their families. We begin with a visit to one of Marie Stopes Clinics. There are 40 Mary Stopes Clinics in Kenya. They work comprehensively with family planning issues, health screening; HIV/STIs; male circumcision; maternal health; post abortion care; primary health care and refugee/IDPs issues.  This morning we also meet with Grace Maingi, Executive Director of the Federation of Women Lawyers-Kenya (FIDA). FIDA is a non-profit, non-partisan membership organization committed to the creation of a society free from all forms of discrimination against women. Membership to FIDA Kenya is open to Kenyan women lawyers and women law students, and uses its resources to pressure Kenyan policy makers in favor of marginalized Kenyan women.  We take lunch at Tamambo at the Karen Blixen Coffee Garden. In the afternoon we visit the Kibera and Kawangware Health Centers. Located in the Kibera and Kawangware slum areas of Nairobi, these centers service some of Nairobis poorest, offering basic and gender related health services. Dinner at Haandi Restaurant.  Overnight at Norfolk Hotel [BLD]

Lake Nukuru's brackish water hosts the pink shrimp that give the flamingo's their color

DAY 4 :  AUG 11: LAKE NAKURU
UNFPA ACTIVITIES:  Visit Nairobi Family Health Option Kenya AIDs project

This morning we visit Family Health Option of Kenya (FHOK) an AIDs /ASRH peer counseling/  education project in Nairobi, then take an early lunch in at a local restaurant before departing by road for Nukuru (approx. 2 hr drive). On arrival we check into our lodge.  This afternoon we embark on our first game drive of the trip. Our Lodge is nestled along the Lion Hill overlooking the spectacular flamingo pink rimmed Lake Nakuru. Its location affords panoramic vistas of the Lake and the picturesque Lake Nakuru National Park. Situated in the Rift Valley, lake Nukuru National Park was created in 1968 to protect the huge flocks of over a million of the lesser flamingo that breed and nest on the lake shores. Lake Nakuru National Park lies at an altitude of 4000-5767 feet above sea level, covers 188 square kilometers of great ecological diversity - from lake water, woodland, bush grassland, to rocky ridges. The park is home to not just the lesser flamingo but over 400 species of birds and one of the few places to see the endangered white rhino. Other wildlife at the park includes lions, leopards, zebra, gazelles, eland, giraffe and the hyrax. We return to the Lodge after our game drive, where we enjoy an evening meal. Overnight Sarova Lion Hill Lodge [BLD]

DAY 5 :  AUG 12: LAKE NUKURU
UNFPA ACTIVITIES:  Meet Father Mungai and Peer Educators from the Catholic Dioceses of Nakuru (CDN) and representatives from the Baringo Female Genital Mutilation/ Circumcision Project

This morning we meet with Father Mungai and Peer Educators from the Catholic Dioceses of Nakuru (CDN) and representatives from the Baringo Female Genital Mutilation/ Circumcision Project and learn of the remedies and preventative measures taken by these local innovators. We take lunch in Nakuru and in the afternoon we return to visit more of Lake Nakuru National Park. The number of flamingoes varies with water and food conditions and the best vantage point is from Baboon Cliff. Also of interest is a protected area around the lake fenced off as a sanctuary to protect Rothschild giraffes, black rhinos and white rhinos. We continue our exploration of this most famous of parks, visiting several landmarks and viewpoints. Overnight Sarova Lion Hill Lodge [BLD]

In the end, our differences are only skin deep

DAY 6 :  AUG 13: MAASAI MARA
UNFPA ACTIVITIES:  Visit the V-Day Safe House for Girls, run by Agnes Pareyios Tasaru Ntomomok, an indigenous, community-based, non-profit organization

After breakfast we depart the hotel and drive to Narok, where we visit the V-Day Safe House for Girls. Tasaru Ntomonok, an indigenous, community-based, non-profit organization headed by Agnes Pareyio, is responsible for managing the V-Day Safe House with the financial backing of V-Day, a charity founded by Eve Ensler an American playwright who wrote and produced the play Vagina Monologues. The V-Day Safe House for Girls, opened in 2002, and is "intended as a safe haven for young girls seeking refuge from Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and early childhood marriage". We take lunch in Narok. In the late afternoon we continue to the Maasai Mara National Park on a slow, rugged dirt track. Located in south-western Kenya the Maasai Mara is the northern extension of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem extending into Tanzania. Named Maasai after the Maasai people, and "Mara" or spotted, a description of the sparse foliage dotting the plains, the park has an exceptional population of big cats, and between August and October hosts the immense annual migration of zebra, Thomson's gazelle and wildebeest as they flood northwards from the Serengeti. Overnight Mara Simba Lodge [BLD]

DAY 7 :  AUG 14: MAASAI MARA
Today we spend the day exploring the Maasi Mara Game Reserve including an AM game safari, and leisure time during the day at the lodge. (Exact times for activities will depend on local circumstances.) This afternoon we visit a traditional manyatta Maasai village - and experience a way of life unchanged for centuries. Visitors are always struck by the grace and beauty of the Maasai people. Overnight Mara Simba Lodge [BLD]

Ask an old Africa hand what they love most and they often just point or gesture at the surroundings

DAY 8 :  AUG 15: MAASAI MARA
Enjoy a day at leisure at our lodge or head off on two additional safaris, one in the morning and one late afternoon, or a full day game drive if the game dictates. Experiencing the untamed beauty of the Mara includes not just the big five, but a vast array of birdlife, flora and smaller wildlife. There may be the oportunity for walking in an adjacent private concession area where picturesque acacia trees dot the hilly landscape and offer the visitor entirely different scenery from the Maasai Reserve (check with your guide). We are accompanied by one of our game guides, a wealth of information on the game, the environment and the traditional medicinal uses of plants and Maasai life on the savannah. Overnight Mara Simba Lodge [BLD]

DAY 9 :  AUG 16: NAIROBI & DEPART OR BEGIN EXTENSION
UNFPA ACTIVITIES:  Debriefing at Norfolk Hotel (conference room). After one final game drive this morning we will transfer to the air strip and fly back to Nairobi. On arrival we return to the Norfolk Hotel, where we have day rooms until evening departure flights or overnight for those traveling on the extension itinerary departing the following morning. We have arranged a group meeting where we are debriefed by our Americans for UNFPA escort and local staff. We enjoy a farewell evening meal at the Carnivore Restaurant before transfer to the airport. Day rooms at Norfolk Hotel [BLD] 

NOTE: Overnight accommodation & breakfast for those joining the TANZANIA EXTENSION ITINERARY (click for itinerary details).

Questions? Ask Our Program Directors.

. C o n t a c t Adrian Chalker 1(800)345-4453