Elimu advisor Andy Cooper has been in Kenya recently for his day job - and sent this reassuring report back to the trustees and to the headteachers of our UK schools on the current security situation there:
While in Kenya, I took the time to just have a look round Nairobi (and particularly places like the airport where our school trips will have to spend time) to look at the security measures in places. This was mainly just for reassurance - Elimu trips spend very little time in Nairobi.
Overall I have to say I was very impressed. The Kenyan government are aware of the potential adverse effects on tourism and travel and are being proactive. There are rigorous road blocks on the way to the airport, bags are scanned as you enter the terminal building and again as you go through security. You can't get anywhere near the airport without having had both you and everything you're traveling with checked.
I also took the opportunity to meet with the drivers we use for airport transfers. Again, I was very impressed. Sammy (the main man) and his team have actually added two new vehicles to their fleet of already well maintained cars. They're also well up to speed on the current political stand off in the north of Kenya. While they're quite keen to stress how safe Nairobi is they will also err on the side of caution if in doubt.
We all saw the recent Foreign Office warning about Nairobi but I can happily report that the Kenya I've seen over the past few months has been much as it always is; beautiful, vibrant, welcoming, hilarious, infuriating.
Andy
While in Kenya, I took the time to just have a look round Nairobi (and particularly places like the airport where our school trips will have to spend time) to look at the security measures in places. This was mainly just for reassurance - Elimu trips spend very little time in Nairobi.
Overall I have to say I was very impressed. The Kenyan government are aware of the potential adverse effects on tourism and travel and are being proactive. There are rigorous road blocks on the way to the airport, bags are scanned as you enter the terminal building and again as you go through security. You can't get anywhere near the airport without having had both you and everything you're traveling with checked.
I also took the opportunity to meet with the drivers we use for airport transfers. Again, I was very impressed. Sammy (the main man) and his team have actually added two new vehicles to their fleet of already well maintained cars. They're also well up to speed on the current political stand off in the north of Kenya. While they're quite keen to stress how safe Nairobi is they will also err on the side of caution if in doubt.
We all saw the recent Foreign Office warning about Nairobi but I can happily report that the Kenya I've seen over the past few months has been much as it always is; beautiful, vibrant, welcoming, hilarious, infuriating.
Andy
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