Are you wondering what a day in the life of a UNH student looks like? Welcome back to our Day in the Life blog series, where we put the spotlight on students from different academic majors and class years.
Today, we travel to Kenya with Alyssa and Grace, along with their team from UNH and their partner organization, Kenya Connect. Follow along as these two nursing majors teach health topics to students, tour a health clinic and immerse themselves in the local culture. This trip was funded by the International Changemaker Grant at UNH.
Meet
Alyssa Bogucki '25, Nursing Major from Groveland, MA
&
Grace Papscoe '25, Nursing Major from Milford, CT
Morning
7:20 a.m.
Our alarms go off and we wake up to get ready for our day. Our plan for the day consists of going to the Kisinziki Primary School to teach lessons to the students and visiting the Level 3 Health Clinic located in Wamunyu.
7:30 a.m.
We wash our faces and brush our teeth with purified water bottles and afterwards, take our anti-malaria pills. We take these pills once every morning starting two days before the trip and ending seven days after the trip to prevent getting malaria.
7:45 a.m.
We go to the restaurant to get breakfast. We are staying at Muthoki Country Lodge in Wamunyu, Kenya and are staying in a lodge together. The restaurant is right next to our rooms so we take a short walk to dine with our team.
What is the International Changemaker Grant at UNH?
The International Changemaker Grant is a partnership between the Changemaker Collaborative at the UNH Sustainability Institute and UNH Global. Student groups who earn these grants:
- partner with regional stakeholders and/or international non-profit organizations to develop a project geared at mitigating a sustainability related problem
- receive funding to augment their own fundraising activities (grants range from $3,000 to $10,000)
- strengthen partnerships and international solidarity to address sustainability challenges in the global south
learn more about the international changemaker grant
8 a.m.
We eat breakfast with the team from UNH and discuss the plans for the day.
8:30 a.m.
Our driver, Danson, from Kenya Connect, picks us up on the company bus. We stop by the Kenya Connect campus to pick up any necessary materials and available staff to accompany us on our day.
9 a.m.
We head to Kisinziki Primary School, and after a bumpy ride, we arrive and are met with very welcoming students and staff. The Kisinziki Primary School is located in Kissi, Kenya and is one of the partner schools of Kenya Connect. We are greeted with local dance and songs and are given our Kamba names. The students all agree on a name based on our characteristics. Our Kamba names make us feel part of the local community.
10 a.m.
After the welcome ceremonies end, we go to our respective classrooms to begin teaching the students.
Grace: My lesson is focused on healthy eating choices and I am partnered with a social work student. We are teaching the pre-primary (preschool) and first/second graders. We read The Very Hungry Caterpillar and do a craft with the students.
Alyssa: I am partnered with one of the nursing professors from UNH and lead a health and nutrition lesson to grade eight students. The focus of our lesson is to discuss the importance of nutritional choices and how everything works in the body.
Afternoon
1:30 p.m.
After a successful hour of teaching, we arrive back at Kenya Connect to eat lunch and rest after our eventful morning. Lunch consists of traditional food such as chapati, a type of flatbread, which is our favorite.
2:30 p.m.
We head to Wamunyu Health Centre, the level 3 health clinic located in Wamunyu. Here, we meet with employees and get a tour of the facility. We learn about the services they provide to the community, like maternity and postnatal care, pharmacy and lab services, as well as doctor's visits. For more critical cases, patients are sent to a higher level facility. There is a level 4 and 5 hospital located about 15-20 minutes away from Wamunyu.
3:30 p.m.
We are able to donate some medical supplies to the clinic, so we meet with staff and present our gifts.
4 p.m.
We head back to Kenya Connect to recap the day with staff and get ready to go back to Muthoki Country Lodge.
4:30 p.m.
Once we are back at the lodge, we have some time to relax before dinner. Normally, we read outside on our porch, take a walk around the property or use the time to catch up on sleep.
Evening
6:30 p.m.
We go to the restaurant for dinner. The table is set and the rest of the team is there. We love this time to connect with the team, share stories and get to know each other better. We all share some of the great things that occurred during the day and discuss our thoughts.
7:30 p.m.
After dinner some of us play UNO and others just hang out by the fire. The rest of the night is for relaxing and preparing for the next busy day.
8 p.m.
We end our day by watching a movie together and get excited for the events of the next day!
Photos by Alyssa Bogucki & Grace Papscoe
- Read all of our day in the life blogs here
- Learn more about the International Changemaker Grant here
- Learn more about sustainability at UNH here
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