PACKING LIST
Last updated by Cecily Breeding, 04-2017
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.
TOILETRIES:
ADDITIONAL:
YOU DO NOT NEED TO BRING:
THINGS FROM THE ABOVE LIST THAT ARE AVAILABLE AT NAKUMATT:
EXTRA ITEMS IF YOU GO ON SAFARI:
One easy way to bless us at MITS is by bringing things from the States to give to us. When considering leaving something behind for staff, students or anyone, please be mindful of who may or may not already have certain items. i.e. don’t replace someone’s outdated iPhone if not everyone on the team has one yet. Additionally, when leaving things for students, don’t give your gifts directly to the student, even (especially) if they ask for it. Instead, leave them with a staff member, who will distribute as needed.
Stuff to consider bringing as a gift for staff members
Stuff to consider bringing as a gift for students (give to staff, who will distribute as needed)
Supplies to consider bringing for the Children’s Centre
Supplies to consider bringing for the Learning Centre
Stuff to consider bringing for the Skills Centre
Stuff to carry back to the States with you for the MITS online store
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
One easy way to bless us at MITS is by bringing things from the States to give to us. When considering leaving something behind for staff, students or anyone, please be mindful of who may or may not already have certain items. i.e. don’t replace someone’s outdated iPhone if not everyone on the team has one yet. Additionally, when leaving things for students, don’t give your gifts directly to the student, even (especially) if they ask for it. Instead, leave them with a staff member, who will distribute as needed.
Stuff to consider bringing as a gift for staff members
- Recreational reading books in English
- Any new or hand-me-down electronics (cameras, phones, iPods, laptops, gadgets) + chargers and necessary accessories
- Ladies purses, satchels
- Business casual/professional attire
Stuff to consider bringing as a gift for students (give to staff, who will distribute as needed)
- NEW underwear and socks (for boys and girls)
- Backpacks or bags for school books
- Quality shoes, especially athletic shoes for boys and girls. Most of the MITS students play soccer barefoot because they don’t have proper shoes.
- Nail polish (for girls)
- Work out/dance routine DVDs (for girls)
- Books and Bibles
- Small and cheap gift items to use as party favors or prizes (lotion bottles, stickers, temporary tattoos, jewelry)
- Photo albums, printed photos from previous visits to MITS
- Bath towels, hand towels, wash cloths
- Gently used clothes including baby clothes and toys
- New underwear and socks
Supplies to consider bringing for the Children’s Centre
- Child proof scissors
- Glue sticks
- Construction paper
- Crayons
- Washable markers
- Other craft supplies
Supplies to consider bringing for the Learning Centre
- Pencils
- Pens
- Individual pencil sharpeners
- Erasers
- Composition books, spiral notebooks
- Glue sticks
- Masking tape, Duct tape, Scotch tape
- Educational posters
- Educational DVDs/software (Bill Nye the Science Guy, etc.)
- Educational games
- Class sets of books (various levels of classics, i.e. a classroom set of The Giver)
- Basic 4 function calculators (not scientific, not graphing)
Stuff to consider bringing for the Skills Centre
- Computer skills (teacher: Moses Okoth)
- Gently used laptops with chargers
- Cameras and chargers
- External hard drives
- Flash drives
- Software (Photoshop, Office Suite updates, AntiVirus software, any educational computer software)
- Hair Dressing (teacher: Monica)
- New and used nail polish
- Manicure tools
- Beauty products
- Hair dressing tools: brushes, scissors, combs
- Appliances such as curlers and flat irons WITH VOLTAGE CONVERTERS
- Catering (teacher: Magdalene Wairimu)
- Quality American-made knives
- Kitchen gadgets
- Cook books
- Auto Mechanics (teacher: Charles Ndonyi)
- Tools
Stuff to carry back to the States with you for the MITS online store
- Because of expensive and unreliable shipping, visitors are our best way of transporting merchandise for the MITS online store back to the States to sell. If you have room to spare in your returning luggage, ask our Skills instructors if they have any of the following to send back with you:
- Necklaces – Red Coconut or other
- Rafiki Bracelets
- Leather Bracelets
- Wooden puzzles, cutting boards or crosses
- Kiondo Bags
- Etc... any other new store item the staff and students have been working on
- Once you are back in the States, please ship the merchandise to Dusty and Cecily Breeding, 24358 Baxter Drive, Malibu, CA 90265. Please record your costs and Dusty and Cecily will reimburse you.
