Published: Wednesday, 9th September, 2009 8:00pm

Athlone photographer returns from Kenya

Athlone photographer Liam Kidney has just returned from a volunteer trip in Kenya with Irish charity Friends of Londiani.

Liam was part of a 70-strong team from all over the country who worked with local communities on development projects during their three-week placement.

Their mission throughout the projects was to help the Kenyan villagers become the authors of their own development.

Speaking about the trip this week Liam said: "It was a fantastic experience. The place is so remote, there's no electricity, it's such a simple life, but it's a good life. The place is a heaven on earth, really. The warmth of the local people is incredible, they are so friendly and grateful for the work we do."

Liam was involved in the construction of two additional classrooms for a local primary school that currently has up to 65 students per classroom, so these buildings will go some way to improve the learning opportunities for local children. He also helped to run a week-long summer camp for the same students, which was something they had never experienced in their lives before.

He also used his skills as a photographer to capture the images of this community and his photos, as well as the ongoing work that Friends of Londiani are involved in, can be seen on the charity's website www.friendsoflondiani.com

Liam said he would highly recommend volunteering with Friends of Londiani to anyone considering volunteerism.

"I'd highly recommend it to anyone to go out there. The problem with Ireland was we got caught up with materialistic things, it's a great place to get back to basics," said Liam. "The projects are very worthwhile and the money goes straight to the projects, no money goes to administration."

In fact, he enjoyed this trip so much, Liam is planning to return to Londiani in October for a week.

Friends of Londiani is an Irish charity working in the Londiani area of Kenya since 2002 in the key areas of health, education and water.

The 2009 summer project is called Harambee. This is a Swahili word for 'togetherness' and together with the local communities, Liam and his fellow volunteers worked towards a better future. Friends of Londiani is a volunteer-led Irish charity that depends on fundraising events around the country.

Liam raised funds for the project materials through local events and for this Friends of Londiani would like to thank everyone who made donations towards the ongoing work in Kenya. As well as fundraising for the projects, volunteers pay for their own flights and accommodation. Every donation counts and is much appreciated in Kenya and if you would like to make a donation please contact Friends of Londiani on 021 4662730.

Alternatively you can support Friends of Londiani by purchasing a handmade Masai Keyring as part of the Keyrings for Kenya campaign. These cost €2 and are available by contacting any of the returned volunteers. The charity has also teamed up with the local church choir in Londiani and the St Kizitos Choir CD is available for €10. This is a fabulous recording of the songs used during mass each week in Londiani.