First Kenya, then the World

Maral Rahmantalab, a Professional Diploma in Architecture student from Northumbria University, will be joining a group of volunteers as part of the Madventurer programme – an organisation which offers participants a life-changing experience through hands-on work in local communities across the globe.

Maral will be involved in a Building and Teaching project in a Kenyan village where the inhabitants live on an average wage of $1-2 per day and the local environment and climate make it exceptionally difficult for the locals to fund desperately needed repairs and building work on their schools.
The Madventurer volunteers work directly with the local community; a partnership which can be odd at first owing to cultural differences, as Maral explains;

“On every project, it takes time for villagers to get used to the idea that Venturers – especially girls – actually want to help...once you explain that you genuinely want them to teach you, the partnership really begins to develop, allowing everyone to get stuck in”.

This interest stems from Maral’s experience of working with MAAP Architects – a company which deals with medical architecture - during her placement year. The remainder of her diploma has been sponsored by the company and she will go on to work with them on its completion.  She explains how this experience has given her inspiration for her forthcoming trip;

“I would like to research the mental health issues that children face in rural villages of Kenya and what facilities are available (if any) to service their needs...I would like to write a brief for the design of a mental health hospital for the children of Kenya”.

She has also visited Tanzania and gained an invaluable insight into the culture and customs of the communities she wishes to work with– a vital part of how she plans to honour their way of life throughout her work on improving their access to healthcare. Her dream is to work for the UN, so her experiences gained through travel and architecture – specifically for impoverished communities - will all help to build a portfolio of experience and expertise in this field.

Her trip to Kenya is self-funded but she has just recently received sponsorship from RIBA North East to assist with her travel expenses and cover some of the costs for the programme. An up and coming event held on 23rd June, for the end of year show for architecture programmes will hopefully provide additional funding for this talented student and this highly worthwhile cause.

For more information about volunteering for similar projects, click here.