UW Service Learning Project in Kenya Topic of Sheridan Meeting

September 27, 2012

Information about a University of Wyoming service learning project in Kenya will be explained during a free meeting Friday, Oct. 19, at 6 p.m. in the C-Tel Presentation Hall in the Whitney Building at Sheridan College. Refreshments will follow.

The University of Wyoming/Casper College (UW/CC) Center will offer an international service learning course in Kenya during the summer 2013 semester. The course, “UW/CC Hillside Water Project,” is open to both credit and non-credit seeking individuals. Instructors seek participants, plus donations, to construct a well in Hillside, located in the foothills of the Aberdare Ranges in Kenya, Africa.

John Kambutu, associate professor of educational studies at the UW/CC Center, will lead a maximum of 12 participants to Kenya June 5, where they will spend 12 days immersed in Kenyan cultures. Beginning and ending in Nairobi, participants will offer educational services at Mburu Gichua Elementary, a poor rural school. At the Hillside water project, participants will construct a water point and surface runoff reservoir before going on safari.

“This learning adventure of a lifetime awaits the hardy traveler who enjoys spending time in nature, adventure and learning new things, as well as the company of others,” Kambutu says.

The goal is to construct a well to provide the 2,000 residents of Hillside with an adequate supply of clean drinking water. The well would eradicate waterborne diseases such as typhoid and cholera; and assist women who often walk up to 20 miles to the nearest river to fetch water for their families.

Participants seeking college credit will use primary resources to explore various topics including Kenya’s history, geography, cultures, languages, economy, education, archeology, ecology, paleontology and zoology. Other areas -- such as geo-political, ethnic and gender issues, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic -- also will be explored.

The estimated cost for the service learning course is $4,585. A $500 deposit must be received by the UW/CC Center by Nov. 1. Contact the UW/CC Center at (307) 268-2713 to pay by credit card, or mail a check to the UW/CC Center, 125 College Drive, Casper, WY 82601.

Study abroad scholarships are available. The first 12 credit-seeking participants to register may be awarded up to $1,000 each, and UW students across the state may qualify for other scholarships such as the Cheney Study Abroad Scholarship. UW/CC Center students also may apply for the Rocky Mountain Power Education Enhancement Grant.

For those who are unable to make the trip, but would like to serve the Hillside community through a donation, funds will be accepted online at uwyo.edu/foundation/ways-to-give under the designation of “other: UW/CC Hillside Kenya Water Project.” Or, make a check payable to the UW Foundation and send it to the UW/CC Center, 125 College Drive, Casper, WY 82601. Include the notation “UW/CC Hillside Kenya Water Project” on the memo line.

For more information on the Sheridan presentation, call Becky Johnston at (307) 672-8737.

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