PACKING LIST

 Last updated by Cecily Breeding, 11-2018

CLOTHES:
Pack about a week’s worth of clothes. Laundry machines are available at the M House. You can also hire a MITS student to wash/line dry your laundry for about a dollar per load.

• Enough t-shirts/comfortable tops for a week. (for women, modest tank tops are okay. Avoid spaghetti straps.)
• Jeans or comfortable trousers (Pack at least one pair of loose pants. Tight pants are inappropriate for visits to Eastleigh or Mathare Valley.)
• Skirts to the knee or below
• Shorts of any length aren’t appropriate for women. For sports or running, yoga pants or sweats are fine.
• Underwear for a week
• Socks for a week
• Shoes: 1 pair of sandals, 1 pair of closed-toed shoes (hiking boots are not necessary unless you are planning on climbing Kilimajaro)
• A jacket or warm sweater. It can get chilly in the evenings.
• A rain jacket with a hood for during the rainy season
• One church outfit (skirt or dress for girls)

TOILETRIES:

• Toothbrush/toothpaste
• Deodorant
• Shampoo/conditioner
• Shower soap
• Razor
• One towel and washcloth (plan on leaving these behind for visitor’s quarters)
• Any over the counter meds you like to have on hand: Pepto bismol, Cipro, Dramamine, diarrhea meds, allergy meds, melatonin or other sleep aid, Vitamin C, etc.
• Malaria meds 
• Feminine hygiene products
• Bug spray
• Hand sanitizer
• Sun screen (very expensive in Kenya and most malaria meds will increase your sun sensitivity)

ADDITIONAL:

• Flashlight and spare batteries (expect the power to go out at least once during your stay)
• Sunglasses
• Hat (if you’re a hat person)
• Spending money
• Water bottle – the tap water in Kamulu has been tested by American standards and is safe to drink. Please purchase bottled water everywhere outside of Kamulu.
• Drink mix powder
• Camera + battery charger + spare memory cards
• Reading materials, eReader or Kindle for travel days
• iPod and headphones
• Plug adapter and/or power converter (Kenya is on a British plug pattern and 240 voltage). Read the fine print on your battery charger to see if you need a converter.
• Snacks (protein bars, crackers, dried fruit, chocolate might melt)
• Small travel bag, purse or day pack, preferably with a zipper compartment to deter pickpockets
• Bag for collecting dirty laundry 
• A package or 2 or new underwear/socks for boys or girls, to leave for the students
• Journal, pen and Bible
• If you are visiting during the rainy season, you will want to consider bringing an umbrella and rain boots. Kamulu’s roads become very muddy when it rains.
• Please consider using a large Tupperware (or other plastic) bin as one of your “suitcases” and leaving it behind for the MITS tailoring shop or wood shop to ship handmade goods back to the states in to add to the MITS online store inventory.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO BRING:

• Bedding/sleeping bag
• Water purifier/filter/or tablets
• Hiking boots
• Weapons, drugs, cigarettes, alcohol, etc.

THINGS FROM THE ABOVE LIST THAT ARE AVAILABLE AT NAKUMATT:

• Flashlights, spare batteries
• Most toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, soap, lotion, toothbrush, toothpaste) with the exception of stick deodorant
• Sunscreen, but it’s expensive
• For women, feminine hygiene products are limited and very expensive.
• Rain boots
• Snacks
• Towels and washcloths

EXTRA ITEMS IF YOU GO ON SAFARI:

• Swim suit (any type is fine. Your safari lodge is frequented by Westerners.)
• Dramamine (the 6-hour ride is largely on bumpy/windy roads)
• Malaria meds