"In 2009 I visited Poland, trying to make sense of and to begin to understand the horrors that took place during the Holocaust. Something as powerful as that really made me question my humanity. How could a person do such a thing? How could the God that created us in His image have allowed this to happen? And if I was born in that time would I have just stood by?

I was captured by the subject and started to read more and more, not just about the Holocaust but about how people survived extreme situations. The more I read, the more I saw that time and time again for every evil crime committed, for every loss and for every seemingly insurmountable barrier there were always equal acts of unconditional love, kindness and self sacrifice which shone through it all.

In July 2010 I was given the unique opportunity to witness this first hand by going to Kenya as part of Jeneration’s’ two week volunteering programme. Here we tried to understand what life was like in a developing country whilst doing whatever we could to help. We worked in a disadvantaged school and at an orphanage where many children had lost parents due to HIV, surviving on the equivalent of 80 pence per day.

Just like in the Holocaust it would have been very easy for the developed world and the Kenyan people to have simply forgotten about these children. However, through Jeneration’s volunteer trip, I believe we showed them that this wasn’t the case.

The work we did involved the redecoration of classrooms, preparation of food and teaching English. These acts, although simple and small in comparison to the enormities faced by these children, still made a difference. I will never forget listening to the headmaster of the orphanage telling us that just how much a smile from one of the volunteers can do to brighten up that child’s whole day just because they can see that somebody cares.

Just as humanity showed its worst side with the Holocaust I believe I have been honoured to have seen it at its best. The people who were involved in organising this programme are angels. It brings me so much joy to think about our two Kenyan guides, Jon and Lydia, our group leader from Jeneration, Dan Rickman, and my group of fellow volunteers and finally of course the sponsors that allowed us to have the opportunity to experience this trip at such a subsidised cost.

The Torah recognises that there is no higher form of charity than this. Just like the Jewish people the Kenyans are a proud nation who wanted us to take away from our experience not how little but how much they have. Hospitable to a fault, they are humorous and have the gift to appreciate even the smallest of gestures.  These people have gone a long way in showing me not only what it means to be Jewish but what it means to be a better person as well.

From this experience have I decided to continue volunteering in Kenya for a additional two weeks. My fellow volunteers have also set themselves the target of continuing to support two of the projects that inspired us in Kenya, the Magodo Orphanage Centre and a Teenage Boys Rehabilitation centre. We have all committed to run at least two fundraiser events each.

We aim to help provide the people we met out there with what we have taken for granted; clean clothes, mattresses to sleep on and school books in which to learn from. We are currently in the process of organising a range of events in which to raise awareness and funds. If you would like to help us make a difference to these children’s lives by either enrolling on the next Jeneration volunteer programme or by donating then please call Dan Rickman from Jeneration on 07734 36324 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it "

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