From classroom to Kenya – students put their learning into practice

Students from Newcastle Business School (NBS) at Northumbria University, Newcastle are working with charity, Team Kenya, to encourage others to volunteer in the poverty stricken region.

The second year students and Team Kenya are working together to develop a new working holiday initiative as part of the School’s Business Volunteer Scheme. The scheme is part of Passport to Employability, an initiative aiming to provide students with extra-curricular activities that enhance their employability skills. The Business with Marketing Management students used their knowledge and skills to help communities in Western Kenya free themselves from poverty, injustice and inequality.

The students developed and implemented a marketing strategy to attract students to take part in the scheme. Their market research showed there was demand for a student package including a varied itinerary with a fixed cost for all trip expenses. The students went on to produce marketing collateral for their ‘Working Holiday’ initiative including leaflets, business cards and brochures.

Student Alex Henderson led the team that helped develop the project:  “We wanted to come up with an initiative that would appeal to students. The knowledge we gained from our Marketing Planning and Research module was invaluable, allowing us to develop a logical and realistic marketing plan for the project. It has been great to be involved in a project where we can put our business skills into practice. As a team we received great support from Dr Matt Sutherland, our Programme Leader, allowing us to develop and define our marketing ideas. You get back as much as you put in with ‘Working Holiday’. I believe we’ve made a real difference to how the charity markets itself to students”.

Team Kenya operates in Ndhiwa, a rural community in the Nyanza region of Western Kenya. Many of the people living there struggle to provide for their families and often suffer from malnourishment. Team Kenya provides education and enterprise support to help Ndhiwa overcome these challenges and deliver sustainable benefits for the future.

Gordon Wilson of Team Kenya said: “Team Kenya makes a real difference to the lives of the people there. Working with Northumbria has been a great opportunity for us to get ourselves recognised within the university and the locals of Ndhiwa are looking forward to the students coming out to volunteer”.

To find out more about Team Kenya and the ‘Working Holiday’ project contact ukteamkenya@gmail.com or visit www.teamkenya.org.uk