COMMUNITY HEALTH VOLUNTEERS-VIRHEMBE

Name: COMMUNITY HEALTH VOLUNTEERS-VIRHEMBE
Start: 2023-06-02
End: 2027-03-28
Location: Kenya

Code: ad5528c1ab3a417c9cd9e803f4baab85 Copied

Kenya Environment Manual work Environment International +2 Fixed dates

About the project

📝 Detailed information

🏢 About the local organisation

Community Health Volunteers (CHV) Virhembe is a grassroots, community-based organisation established in 2006 by Kenyan volunteers operating within the Kakamega East District in Western Kenya. Headquartered at Virhembe Market near the Kakamega Rainforest, the group primarily focuses on fighting HIV/AIDS, mitigating gender-based violence (GBV), improving community health, and spearheading local conservation efforts Core Initiatives & Interventions • Healthcare & Facility Management: The group built a community facility (frequently operating under names like Virhembe Community Nursing Home). The facility provides critical infrastructure, including clinician consultation rooms, words, a laboratory, a pharmacy, and a delivery room. • HIV/AIDS & Reproductive Health Support: The organization works closely with the Kenyan Ministry of Health to design quality HIV/AIDS interventions, promote safe sexual behaviour, and expand referral access for people living with HIV/AIDS. They actively provide sexual reproductive health education to thousands of school-going adolescents across Kakamega East • GBV & Women's Empowerment: Volunteers act as frontline educators and advocates against Gender-Based Violence (GBV), leading awareness campaigns targeting local women and adolescents

💼 What the programme involves

Healthcare Support & Clinical Assistance • Facility Support: Assisting staff at the community nursing home with daily operations, guiding patients, and organizing medical supplies. • HIV/AIDS Advocacy: Supporting home-based care for people living with HIV/AIDS, distributing nutritional supplements, and conducting safe-sex education. • Public Health Campaigns: Participating in community hygiene drives, including tracking, cleaning, and treating jigger infestations in local households and schools. Environmental Conservation • Tree Nursery Management: Working in the group's tree nurseries near the Kakamega Rainforest to bag soil and nurture seedlings. • Afforestation: Planting trees in degraded areas of the local ecosystem and educating the community on environmental protection.

🏠 Accommodation on site

 Living Spaces: Accommodation is provided in shared rooms within a communal house or host family situated close to the Virhembe project site.  Essential Gear to Bring: The accommodation is basic, so it is required that you bring your own sleeping bag, sleeping mat, and a mosquito net.  Meals Provided: Volunteers receive three local meals a day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner).  Cooking Arrangements: Food is prepared using locally available Kenyan foodstuffs. Volunteers generally share the daily responsibility of preparing and cooking meals as a team  Drinking Water: While tap or local water is accessible at the site, it is highly recommended to boil or chemically treat the water before drinking. Alternatively, bottled mineral water can be purchased from local shops at Virhembe Shopping Center

📍 About the location

After daily volunteer tasks wrap up in the afternoon, you can participate in informal, low-cost activities around Virhembe village: • Nature Walks: Group walks around the village borders and the outer edges of the rainforest. • Cultural Exchanges & Meetings: Gathering with local volunteers and villagers to learn local Luhya customs, share traditional stories, and exchange languages. • Community Games: Playing football or participating in local recreational sports and board games with village youth. • Home Visits: Visiting neighborly community members for an immersive look into rural Kenyan hospitality. Since Virhembe Market sits directly on the fringe of the Kakamega Rainforest, volunteers frequently spend their Saturdays or Sundays exploring the ecosystem: • Rainforest Sunrise Hikes: Early morning guided treks up the forest hills (such as Buyangu Hill) to watch the sunrise over the massive tropical canopy. • Wildlife & Primate Tracking: Guided trail walks at the Kakamega Forest Station to view rare bird species, butterflies, and colobus monkeys. • The Crying Stone of Ilesi: A popular historical landmark located nearby featuring an 8-meter vertical rock formation that is excellent for brief day trips and local folklore exploration

Interested in this project? Create your account and apply online.

📷 Project photos

COMMUNITY HEALTH VOLUNTEERS-VIRHEMBE

/ 5

📅 Available sessions

CIVS/STV-03/2027

06/03/2027 → 28/03/2027

Open

0 / 10

♂ 0/3 ♀ 0/7

CIVS/STV-06/2023

02/06/2023 → 22/06/2023

Closed

4 / 15

♂ 0/7 ♀ 4/8

CIVS/STV-01/2024

05/01/2024 → 23/01/2024

Closed

3 / 12

♂ 0/5 ♀ 3/7

CIVS/STV-08/02/2026

10/08/2026 → 31/08/2026

Closed

0 / 14

♂ 0/5 ♀ 0/9

ℹ️ Key information

Age required

18–30 years old

Solidarity donation

300.00 EUR

French tax residents may be eligible for a tax reduction of up to 66% of their costs (membership, plane tickets, solidarity donation).

📍 Location

Virhembe, Kenya

Kenya

🌍 Location info

Local currency

Kenyan Shilling (KES / KSh)

Exchange rate

1 KES = 0.006892 EUR

Rate as of 31/05/2026

Timezone

East Africa Time

Local time: 21:54 (12/11/2026)

🛡️ Before you leave

Security information

📞 Contact us

[email protected]

+32 2 888 67 13

Contact form

✅ Features

🏠 Accommodation

Collective

🗣️ Languages spoken

English