Young Officers (YOs) from Britannia Royal Naval College have built an adventure play park from scratch for children in Kenya working with the Mercy Rescue Trust.
A group of seven Budding Aviators, Navigators ad Submariners along with BRNC’s Flight Training Officer, Lieutenant (Lt) Tim Curnock, spent 10 days working at the charity’s baby rescue centre in Kitale - a large town in the Western Region of Kenya.
The centre has 25 beds and takes in abandoned and abused babies and young children and nurtures them back to health before finding loving families who wish to adopt them.
While in the area the YOs carried out a number of activities with both the children of the Trust and the children of the local community, who attended the centre every other day as part of a holiday club.
Activities included afternoon rugby coaching sessions, with kit which was kindly donated by the Royal Navy Rugby Union, and arts and crafts sessions.
In the run up to the expedition the team held a number of fundraising events to make it possible - including a Christmas Raffle and a band night. These events where extremely well attended and also allowed the team to make a donation of £2715.66 to the Trust.
Additionally the staff of BRNC donated in excess of 300Kg of clothes and toys, which the team were able to take with them.
Sub Lieutenant Masse Vargaysch said: “Overall we had an amazing and humbling time working with Mercy Rescue Trust, and meeting the incredible people who make it a possibility.
"We had a chance to see what a huge difference the charity makes to the lives of vulnerable children and were honoured to play a small role in helping them out.
"We were lucky enough to be welcomed into the community and really see the culture of Western Kenya. We are very grateful to both the members of the College and the local community for their continued support in general and in helping this great cause.”
Other parts of the expedition saw a trip up Mount Elgon with the children of Mercy Rescue Trust, experiencing Sunday worship at the Cavalry Gospel Church in Kitale, and a road trip through the Great Rift Valley, crossing the equator returning back to Nairobi.
Lt Curnock said: "The trip was a great success for both the staff and children at Mercy Rescue as well as the team from BRNC. The YOs were excellent ambassadors for the Royal Navy with their hard work and enthusiasm.
"As the team go forward into careers that will undoubtedly expose them to Humanitarian Relief Operations, these seven YOs will now have a greater awareness of what is required when they have to think on their feet to help those in need with limited resources. It was a real privilege to lead this expedition"
Information on Mercy Rescue Trust, including ways to donate, can by found on the charity’s website, www.mercyrescue.co.uk, or by visiting the Trust’s Facebook page.
