The ministry of Education seeks to recruit a total of 1,600 young Kenyan graduates to join the cohort of Kenya’s G-United National Volunteer Programme. The programme targets recent Kenyan University Graduates aged 21-30 years old to serve as volunteers in communities outside their home counties for a period of 9 months. They will undertake a week long training which includes professional skills, training and subsequently be deployed to serve in the counties.
G-United is looking for self driven, hard working and passionate Kenyan graduates to experience life in a new county and become a generation of leaders and change makers. Volunteers become “Education Ambassadors” who provide remedial education support to young learners in primary schools and contribute to the improvement of the quality of education in Kenya. The volunteers will be paid a monthly stipend of Kshs. 6,000 per month along with NHIF cover during the period under service.
ABOUT G-UNITED
Greatness United (G-United) is an annual national volunteering programme that was launched on September 2014 by the Presidency of the Republic of Kenya, and is implemented by the Ministry of Education, with technical support provided by Evidence Action. The primary aims of the programme are to:
1. Strengthen and support primary education outcomes – educational outcomes such as early literacy skills will be enhanced, by volunteers under the guidance of teachers, providing remedial support to pupils who have been identified as requiring extra support.
As mentors, volunteers will be challenged to inspire, motivate and cultivate a culture of greatness at the primary schools in which they have been deployed. Acting as ‘education ambassadors’, volunteers also promote school enrollment through outreach and awareness raising campaigns in their host communities.
2. Promote national cohesion – by volunteering in areas other than their home or residence counties, university graduates gain invaluable exposure to diverse environments and communities. While serving in these primary schools and communities, these volunteers live with local host families, further increasing opportunities for meaningful cultural exchange.
3. Create enriching personal development opportunities for the youth through community service – University graduates who are selected to participate in this volunteer programme will develop essential professional and life skills, having gone through extensive training and practical experience that will contribute towards making them better individuals.
A LIFE – CHANGING EXPERIENCE
Becoming a G-United volunteer, known as a Volunteer Graduate Assistant (VGA), is a great opportunity for self-driven, hardworking and passionate young Kenyan graduates to travel to counties other than their home counties and become a generation of leaders and changemakers. Volunteers become ‘education ambassadors’ who provide remedial education support to young learners in order to contribute to the improvement of the quality of education in Kenya.
In addition to receiving related training from a host of professionals and life coaches in the course of their service, G-United volunteers are encouraged to initiate social community projects of their choice, which help improve the quality of living locally.
WHAT DO VOLUNTEER GRADUATE ASSISTANTS DO?
G-United volunteers undergo a week of training which equips them with the necessary skills for their placement. This training includes an Introduction to Reading Aloud with young learners faciliated by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development, the importance of National Cohesion by the National Commission for Integration and Cohesion as well as personal development sessions and courses such as on Personal Branding and Entrepreneurship and Life Coaching.
After their training, VGAs are deployed in pairs to their placement counties – these are counties other than their home counties. This gives the volunteer an opportunity to experience a new environment other than what they are used to, and interact with Kenya’s rich cultural diversity. They primarily support school teachers by helping in remedial education through Read Aloud Sessions with young struggling learners who have been identified as lagging behind in classes 2 and 3.
HOW TO APPLY
The Recruitment process to join Cohort 5 is now OPEN. If you are interested in joining G-United in 2019, proceed to GO TO THE LINK:
https://www.g-united.or.ke/index.php/apply
SELECTION PROCESS
For its fifth cohort, Greatness United (G-United) looks to recruit recent University graduates to serve as Volunteer Graduate Assistants in Primary Schools for 9 months in 2019. The Cohort 5 recruitment process begins in September 2018.
The selection process is rigorous and competitive, combining an online application, applicant engagement surveys and face-to-face interviews which determines selection for training and volunteer placement.
Close to 2,000 volunteers have already been deployed to counties across the country in the first, second, third and fourth cohorts. Our fifth cohort will expand into 2 more counties to make a total of 22 diverse counties in Kenya. The Counties which participate in the programme as of 2019 are: Busia, Nyeri, Machakos, Kilifi, Samburu, West Pokot, Kisumu, Meru, Kisii, Kajiado, Migori, Bungoma, Uasin Gishu, Kiambu, Embu, Kwale, Marsabit, Taita Taveta, Kirinyaga, Kakamega, Baringo and Kitui.
WHO CAN APPLY?
Applicants to the volunteer programme must be at least 21-year-old Kenyan nationals who are:
– Aged 21 to 30 years
– recent Kenyan University graduates from any discipline, actively searching for a fulfilling exprience of service to the community and for personal development
– Ambitious, driven, hardworking, disciplined, brave and adventurous individuals looking to make a difference in their own lives and those of others
– Individuals who are able to commit to an un-interrupted 9-month long volunteering programme in 2019 in a different county, where they will live with a host family.
THE APPLICATION PROCESS
Applying to join G-United is a simple and straightforward procedure outlined in the phases shown below.
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Online Application
- Filling out the application form should take about 15 minutes. No login is required to access the platform but you will be required to finish the application all at once (you cannot save it and choose to complete it later).
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Ongoing Applicant Engagement
- Eligible applicants will have the opportunity of participating in a series of surveys aimed at collecting additional data for determining programme entry behavior as well as seeking to improve the applicant’s placement.
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Face to Face Interview & Verification
- Eligible applicants are invited to attend an interview with G-United Recruitment officials at County Centers nearest to them. In addition to dressing presentably, applicants are required to carry original copies of their ID, University transcript, certificates or a letter of completion.
- Eligible applicants are invited to attend an interview with G-United Recruitment officials at County Centers nearest to them. In addition to dressing presentably, applicants are required to carry original copies of their ID, University transcript, certificates or a letter of completion.
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Cohort Invitation & Placement
- Successful applicants then receive communication from the programme, inviting them to join the programme, as well as an invitation to take part in a mandatory week-long Training.
- Successful applicants then receive communication from the programme, inviting them to join the programme, as well as an invitation to take part in a mandatory week-long Training.
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Training & Deployment
- Takes place at a regional centre where volunteers are taken through an intensive process meant to prepare them for the task ahead, as well as equip them with personal development skills. Thereafter, volunteers are deployed to the local community and begin their volunteer service.
Nature of Offences/ Misconduct by teachers Punishable by the Teachers Service Commission
