5 Tips to Consider When Planning your Trip

For many people Africa is a magical place full of mystery and adventure. I have always had a fascination with the dark continent since childhood and as we prepared for our recent trip, I was filled with excitement. But I was not going to Kenya as a tourist but as a partner with Ronnie in helping him achieve his dream, so it was important that our family fit in to African life. Prior to travelling we asked Ronnie for suggestions on making those we were to meet feel comfortable with us and we with them. Here are 5 tips we used successfully.

1. It is important to have cultural sensitivity - as a volunteer, business person or organization leader you are not staying on the fringes but actually interacting with the Kenyan people in an advisory capacity. Except in the large centres like Nairobi, women in rural villages do not wear pants. Women should take skirts to wear or if you feel you must wear pants, purchase a Kanga (a rectangular piece of fabric) that you tie around your waist like a skirt. It is important to show your respect for their customs.

2. Don't impose your values - remember you are entering another culture. Meal times and food will not be the same as what you have at home (sweet potatoes are served for breakfast and you may get the same meal twice in one day) but smile and be happy. Many of the people who are entertaining you are serving you the best meal they can present and afford. The same goes for appointments - African time and business practices do not have the same hurried pace we have here - be patient.

3. Be conscious of the African perception of Westerners. Most Africans think that everyone from the West is wealthy. We were constantly telling the villagers we work with how long we had saved before being able to visit them. Ronnie says, "In African culture a visitor is a big deal. People will just want to be with you - you will have to have some understanding as Africans have preconceived thoughts of Westerners. You may be harassed by villagers for loans and food, it happens routinely." We did find that on our last night in the village we were approached with some pretty serious and expensive requests but as we are only the facilitators for our donors, we told villagers we would take back their requests for consideration.

4. Take time to learn even a few key phrases in Swahili. Although most people we met did speak some English, a few words spoken in Swahili shows that you cared enough to relate to them on their terms. We found that it certainly endeared the people to us and elicited big smiles as we struggled with pronounciation. Simple phrases like hello, goodbye, please and thank you are quick to learn. Another helpful tip to know is the Kenyan greeting - we called it "the secret handshake". Upon meeting someone you grasp the person's hand as in a normal handshake, then move the hand slightly to grasp the thumb and then return the grasp of the normal handshake. People we met were always surprised and happy to see we knew the common greeting.

5. Finally - take some gifts with you to hand out. The gifts need not be big or cumbersome, just something simple to show your appreciation of their hospitality. We took with us pins we obtained from our town, and both provincial and federal members of Parliament; small toys (like beany babies) along with pencils, pens and notebooks for children; head scarves or bandanas for the women and baseballs caps and multitools for the men. They may seem like small items to us but were very much appreciated. We always kept a few tucked into our bags when we went out as we never knew who we might meet and the hospitality they would afford us.