BASIC INFO

Destination

Kenya is located in East Africa, it has a population of over 50 million people and is, roughly, the same size as Texas. Nairobi is Kenya’s capital, and the coastal city of Mombasa is the second largest. The official languages in the country are English and Swahili, although many people speak other local languages. Kenya was a British colony until it became an independent country in 1963. Kenya has a rich history that pre-dates the colonial era by many centuries. In fact, it is around Lake Turkana, located in Kenya, that some of the earliest remains of hominids, such as the Homo erectus, has been found. Kenya is home to Africa’s second highest peak, Mount Kenya (17,057 ft), has a long stretch of coast along the Indian Ocean, as well as many vast national parks.

While, to many people, the word Kenya might evoke images of savannahs and safaris, partly because of movies such as “Out of Africa”, which was shot in Kenya, thinking of Kenya in just those terms is misleading. Nairobi is a modern and very vibrant city, with a great arts scene, large luxurious shopping malls, and a growing IT sector. Like so many other African countries, Kenya is still suffering from some of the legacies of its colonial past, which brought enduring underdevelopment in many parts of the country. While Nairobi, Mombasa and other cities, such as Eldoret and Kisumu, have many of the comforts you could find in any city in the US, other parts of the country have poor infrastructure and lack basic facilities.

Here are practicalities about Kenya that you might want to keep in mind as you prepare for your trip:

There is an 8-hour time difference between Houston and Nairobi. That is, at 2pm in Houston, it is 10pm in Nairobi. There is one single time zone in Kenya.
Kenya uses a Type G plug, which has three pins. You will need travel adapter to be able to use the two-pin plug model we use in the US.
The country code for Kenya is +254. As part of the program you will get a Kenyan SIM card. You will be able to receive phone calls from overseas at no cost to you, but you will not want to use that card to call the US, as it will be quite expensive.
Kenya’s currency is the shilling. 100 shillings are approximately 1 US$ (0.97 at the time of writing). You won’t be able to get shillings in the US, but there are lots of places where you can exchange US dollars to shillings. There are also ATMs all over Kenya. Payment with credit cards is not as widespread as in the US. However, once you get your SIM card, you will be able to make payments using the very popular MPESA system.