1. Extracts from theProject Kenya Diary
Day 7
First day of trekking, Mount Suswa crater rim and
volcanic caves, where bats and baboons live.
Visited the school the previous MCCC group
had worked on for more dancing and singing.
Visited Masai homes (manyattas) made of wood
and dried cow dung, incredibly dark and basic.
Day 8
Another hot day, trekked past natural volcanic
steam vents singing ‘is this the way to Amarillo’. Another spectacular sunset walk across the valley
plains, saw live zebra but ‘Trevor’ the zebra skull joins the group!Day 9
Trekking to Suswa town, it’s so poor and run down but really important for us to see all parts of this
area. Climbed the very steep ‘Christmas Pudding’ late afternoon. We had an emotional memorial
service at the top for those the group have lost or those close to them who are ill. Incredibly moving, a
testimony to a fantastic group and the way everyone has embraced and supported each other.
Day 10
Woke up and sang Happy Birthday to Georgie from the tents. Trekking 10 metres away from a giraffe
family. Onto Hells Gate Gorge with steep cliffs and baboons either side of us led through to a river.
Team climbed to the top, through waterfalls and precarious rocks and drops. Then through the only
National Park you can walk through, in the rain, where Born Free was filmed. Saw buffalo, warthog and
zebra. At fisherman’s camp we enjoyed campsite
showers, colobus monkeys and a bar followed by an
amazing boat ride on Lake Navaisha to hippo watch.Day 11
5.30am start to climb Mount Longonot, the 9000ft
volcano. Group anxious and excited! Reached
crater rim for a photo before most of the group
then took the 3ft wide crater up to the summit,
saw leopard tracks. Trekking over we went to
our hotel in Nairobi before our Finale Dinner at
Carnivore restaurant, amazing meal of eight
different meats including crocodile and ostrich,
an awards ceremony with speeches followed
by dancing (including the legendary Hokey Cokey)
until 4am.
Day 12
Up at 5.00am singing ‘Jambo, JamboBwana’ all the way to Nairobiairport.
Project Kenya
and charity update
Marie Curie Cancer Care provides high quality
nursing, totally free, to give terminally ill people the
choice of dying at home supported by their families.
In November of 2007, 20 Hays
employees took part in an amazing
adventure – Project Kenya. The
purpose of the project was to raise
money for our charity partner
Marie Curie Cancer Care. As you
will read from these diary extracts,
participants took part in a 12 day
trek in the Rift Valley.
In addition to the trek and in a four
day scheduled community project,
they carried out essential
refurbishment and maintenance
at a local school, working with the
Masai people. The volunteers even
managed to climb two dormant
volcanoes in their spare time.
Everyone really enjoyed the
experience, which has raised the
huge sum of £82,000, with each
trekker raising a minimum of £3,500
through sponsorship and fundraising
events. The project has attracted a
fair amount of attention and has
been featured in ‘Here is the City’
and onrec.com publications. If you
would still like to make a donation
please send a cheque payable to
Marie Curie Cancer Care to:
HR Department, Euston Road
Head Office.
Marie Curie Cancer Care is one of
the UK’s largest charities. Employing
more than 2,700 nurses, doctors
and other healthcare professionals.
It expects to provide this year, care
for around 27,000 terminally ill
patients in the community and within
its 10 hospices. Marie Curie is the
largest provider of hospice beds
outside the NHS.
Hays has donated a total of
£140,000 (£70,000 employee
fundraising matched by Hays) in
06/07. Our 07/08 target is £80,000
and if this target is reached, Hays
will also match it, potentially bringing
the total amount donated to Marie
Curie in our 2-year Partnership, to
£300,000. Thanks to your
fundraising efforts and Project
Kenya, since August we have
already raised £96,000, which is
well above our yearly target.
There are lots of fundraising ideas
like quiz nights for clients and
candidates on the Charities page
of the intranet as well as Cash for
Care/Dress Down days on 1st
February, 25th April and 18th July
2008.
Andy McRae – MD, UK & Ireland
Project Kenya Reunion
The trek allowed people to make friends for life, the group continue to see each
other and had their first of many official reunions in London on Friday 18th January,
joined by the English guide, Alan and Dr Ross! The group will continue to help the
local area by personally financing building materials and sending school supplies
out via Alan.
A truly memorable challenge;
rewarding, hard work, emotional,
great people to trek with and
knowing we made a difference
to the children of Kenya and
families in the UK.
Poppy Penhallow
Other challengesAlthough Hays won’t be running an overseas
challenge in 2008, we plan to run one nextyear, in the meantime here are some ideasfor you to pursue personally if this has given
you appetite for making a real difference...
March 16th Edinburgh half MarathonApril 17th-20th SwimathonApril 27th
Peak DistrictMay 4th
Forest of Dean bike rideMay 4th
BUPA Great
Edinburgh RunMay 13th
Macclesfield BikeathonMay 17th-25th Great Wall of ChinaMay 18th
BUPA Great
Manchester Run 10kMay 18th
Archer Grand Prix,Chiltern Classic bike rideMay 22-June 1st Inca TrailMay 31st-June 1st/June 28th & 29th Ben Nevis ChallengeJune 1st
SnowdonJune 29th
BUPA Great WalesRun 10kJune 29th
Humber Half MarathonJune 23rd-July 2nd KilimanjaroJuly 5th
Yorkshire, 3 peaksJuly 11th-14th Sailing to St Malo
Beat your ultimate challenge– your way! Further details onMarie Curie Cancer Care websitewww.mariecurie.org.uk
Life changing. Completing
the challenge of the project,
trekking and seeing the team
spirit and unity. Fantastic
experience, fantastic cause,
and fantastic people.
Scott Robinson
Project Kenya, a truly
memorable and amazing
experience that I will
cherish forever! 12 days
full of excitement, new
experiences, amazing
people and lots of
emotions.
Richard Gorse
Simply the most
rewarding, challenging
and enjoyable
experience of my
life, and I feel very
lucky to have been
a part of it!
Leonie Yates
A once in a
lifetime opportunity
I was extremely
privileged to
experience which
will stay with
me forever.
Rebecca Kitchen

2. Extracts from the
Project Kenya Diary
Day 1
20 Hays employees, 1 Marie Curie Cancer Care
rep and a doctor meet at Heathrow for our
overnight mainly sleepless, excited night flight
to Nairobi!
Day 2
On route from Nairobi we saw zebra, gazelles and an ostrich. Went to the
school, saw 300 children, in 7 classrooms each with 5 or 6 tiny wobbly desks
with nails poking out, rest sit on concrete floor. There are absolutely no pens or
paper there. Can’t wait to make a difference... welcome to Project Kenya.
Day 3
‘Colour Crew’ starts painting in Marie Curie Cancer Care blue. Desks being
constructed by ‘Team Chippies’ and ‘Gutter Gang’ start making guttering
tomorrow when materials arrive in Kenyan time! A great first full day in the
Rift Valley, 23 fantastic people, it doesn’t get much better than this.
Day 4
Had a Remembrance Day service at the school. A few of the team
managed to shower today after a full day working on the school before
setting off for a giraffe hunt, past Masai homes, exhilarating as is
everything here on the Project. Around the campfire that night we heard
hyenas very close.
Day 5
Woke to rain on the tents, back down to school for last full day on project.
Put up posters and wall charts in the classrooms, added the Marie Curie logo
and our handprints with names on Class 1’s wall. Practised our performance
for the school handover, Hokey Cokey, Old MacDonald’s Farm and the
National Anthem! Had a Kenya v England football match and a volleyball game
with the children. In total we built 37 desks, painted 4 rooms and constructed
guttering across the back of the school.
Day 6
Today we officially handed over classrooms.
A market had formed at the school, mothers
walking for hours to come and see us. The
children performed a Masai dance for us, then
we sang our songs! Many moving speeches
from the locals. Keith Watt and Clare Turner
spoke, was a very moving day.
Cont overleaf...
List of Trekkers
Ruth Munday, Executive
Emma Simmons, A&F
Richard Gorse, Office Support
Jenny Scrivener, Human Resources
Catherine Hill, Candidate Attraction
Andy Fowler, C&P
Clair Munro, Compliance
Poppy Penhallow, HR Dept
Anna Roberts, C&P
Leonie Yates, C&P
Tracy Howden, Banking
Claire Turner, A&F
Rebecca Kitchen, Legal
Sian James, Education
Keith Watt, Office Support
Scott Robinson, Hays City
Neil Dunnigan, Hays City
Georgina Pawley, Senior Finance
Nikki Batt, Information Technology
Kirsty How, Resource Management
Life changing! To know
that we have had a positive
impact on so many people’s
lives, both at home and
away, and enjoyed an
amazing experience
personally too.
Nikki Batt
The most
rewarding, enjoyable,
emotional and
challenging
experience I have
ever had, made new
friends, had new
experiences and
opened my eyes
to a new and
different world.
Jenny Scrivener
It was a fantastic
experience to
contribute to a
community that
genuinely appreciated
our efforts. This project
has enabled us to
make a hugely positive
impact on people’s
lives both in this
country and abroad.
A truly humbling and
rewarding achievement.
Keith Watt
Making this trip has touched both my heart & my soul with the
wonderful people I have encountered and the experiences I have
gained, and I leave Kenya with such an immense sense of pride
knowing of the real difference we as a group made, in such a short
but truly memorable time.
Neil Dunnigan
Masai Culture
The community use Masai language as their mode of communication. In the past the
Masai wore skins and hides. Currently the mode of dressing has changed and they
mostly put on the ‘shuka’ although some put on modern clothing. They also prefer
the red colour which they take as a source of beauty.
In the past they used meat, blood and
milk from their animals (goats, sheep
and cows). Currently their diet has
changed and they have excluded
blood and added the vegetables.
Their most preferred food is still
meat and milk.
They live in small houses which are
built by women, they use grass, sticks
and cow dung as their materials. A
few of them have acquired the
modern houses.