A new and improved hybrid plan for student accommodation Over the months of planning for RSIC2023 we have been wrestling with growing traffic congestion in Nairobi increasing travel-time required for student homestay, and the impact this could have on our conference programme. No one wants to spend several hours a day stuck in traffic and we have more exciting things planned! So, we are delighted to tell you that we have been offered a fantastic solution and will now be combining our original plan for Homestay with group accommodation in Qwetu, a new University Hostel in Nairobi (opened in July 2023) in close proximity to Brookhouse. This will mean that as part of the activity carousel, your students will now spend one night of the RSIC in Homestay, one night in the Safari Park as originally planned, and the remainder of the week with exclusive use of the University Hostel under the supervision of Brookhouse’s Boarding staff. This will cut down the travel-time for most of the week to just a few minutes, maximising the time for the conference programme, whilst still ensuring that every student has a homestay experience in Kenya. Student delegates will be able to leave the majority of their luggage at Qwetu for the whole week and take an overnight bag to the homestay and to the safari camp. The Hostel rooms are fully furnished with free Wi-Fi and 24-hour security with CCTV camera surveillance and secure access key card to rooms. Some photographs of the accommodation, a Risk Assessment for Qwetu, and answers to some immediate questions e.g. about room sharing, washroom facilities etc. can be found on the RSIC website HERE.
Campus allocations and Adults’ Hotels
All delegate schools have now been allocated to one of Brookhouse’s two Campuses – either Karen or Runda. You can find out which your school has been allocated to by logging into the main Round Square website HERE and scrolling to the bottom of your school’s profile, where you will see your campus allocation. From this you will also know which hotel your adult delegates will be staying in:
Those ADULTS whose schools have been allocated to the Runda Campus will be staying in the Trademark Hotel located at the Village Market along Limuru Road. It is approximately 8.5 km from Brookhouse Runda Campus.
Those ADULTS whose schools have been allocated to the Karen Campus will be staying in Ole Sereni Hotel along Mombasa road. It is about 11 Km from Brookhouse Karen Campus.
An exciting programme of activities Adventure and Environmentalism: For our Adventure Day we will be heading to Nairobi National Park to spend time exploring wildlife conservation and to experience the excitement of camping in the wild under African skies. We will learn about the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, which has played a significant role in Kenya's conservation effort since the 1970s by helping save the lives of orphaned elephants and rhinos who are ultimately released back into the wild and continues to provide a blueprint for the welfare of animals in captivity. We will also connect with the Giraffe Centre, which was established to protect the endangered Rothschild Giraffe that is found only in the grasslands of East Africa and runs an education centre at the giraffe sanctuary to promote conservation awareness. Service: The conference includes a day devoted to community-based service projects. All of the projects will be in and around Nairobi and will involve either working with children in a home, school or orphanage or an environmental project. Delegates will get physically involved in building, creating, or decorating an environment and will have the opportunity to get to know the people we work with as our community partners. Each service activity will hopefully tell a story of human courage, endurance, and optimism as we aim to make our Service Day involvement one that will truly extend understanding and awareness.
Please share the attached packing list with your students Students will need to bring their school uniform to wear at the Opening and Closing Ceremony. If your school does not have a school uniform, then students should wear smart clothing. Adults should wear smart casual clothing for the Opening Ceremony. If your students are taking part in the Student Cultural Performance, please bring any costumes required for the performance. During the rest of week, delegates can dress casually and appropriately for adventure activities. See packing list for a breakdown. It’s pretty mild in Kenya at this time of year, but it’s a good idea to bring along a jumper or light jacket for the evenings. The average daily maximum temperature is 25°C and the average daily minimum temperature is 16°C in October. There is a 40% chance of a perfect sunny day and a 60% chance of seeing a mixture of sunshine and clouds with an average 36mm of rainfall. We recommend checking the forecast before packing so you know what to expect and bringing clothes that you can layer and be comfortable whatever the weather. Please bring a SCHOOL FLAG for your school or a banner with your school logo on it if you don’t have a flag. These will be displayed on the day of the Opening Ceremony. As a guide, the ideal size would be around 140cm x 80cm (4.5 ft x 2.5 ft). If you have a choice, please bring the closest you have to this size, but don’t worry if you don’t have a choice and it’s a different size – please bring what you can.
We recommend that all delegates leave any valuable jewellery or unnecessary technology at home. We also discourage expensive or branded clothing, particularly on the service and adventure days.
Pin Swap – encourage your students to bring some pin badges
Please ask each of your delegates to bring with them to the Conference a handful of pin badges to swap with other delegates they meet on arrivals day to decorate their lanyards. This is also on the packing list, but we wanted to highlight it, as it may mean a craft project (handmade is good!) or your delegates might want to bring badges from your school or a tourist pin from wherever in the world you are. We suggest maybe 20-30 badges to swap.
What to do when you arrive for the RSIC: How and where you will be met for transfers
If you have already shared your flight information with us – Thank you! We are busy finalising all the transfers and logistics of your arrivals. If your flights get changed, please keep us informed by using the link provided HERE. If you have not yet shared your flight details please do so as a matter of urgency, using the same link.
If your delegation is not all travelling together, please complete a separate form for each part of your group. This information will ensure that someone from our team is waiting to meet each member of your group on arrival at the airport and to transfer you to Brookhouse School.
Arrivals: Arrivals are invited on 8th October between 6am and 6pm at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. On arriving in Kenya, you should go through Immigration and then collect your luggage for all members of your delegation. Go through to Arrivals where you will be met by members of the Brookhouse team. Please no not leave the airport area without meeting the welcoming committee. Whilst at the airport, keep a close eye on all your personal belongings including hand luggage, suitcase, passport, and wallet!
Arrivals Emergency contact: On arrivals day in case of an emergency, or if you cannot locate the welcome team on arrival there will be an emergency number to call. This will be confirmed in the final pre-departure mailing. The on-call phone number will be live from midnight on 8th October, and is for emergency use only, please. If there are any general changes to your plans, or your flights are cancelled, missed or delayed please notify us on RSIC23@Brookhouse.ac.ke so we can update our schedule.
Departures: On Departure Day all delegates will be returned by coach to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport airports in time for departing flights (as specified in the flight information you provide to us).
A reminder to check medical requirements for visiting Kenya It is important that all delegates visit a travel medicine/ vaccine specialist or a doctor familiar with travel medicine to answer their questions and make specific recommendations. Your doctor will be able to provide information about staying well in country and any precautions to take. If you have not already done this, please do so now as a matter of urgency.
Pre-order your Round Square merchandise If you, or any members of your delegation are interested in purchasing any Round Square merchandise to commemorate your conference experience, please pre-order USING THIS FORM so that the Round Square Team can bring your merch to Kenya for you to collect on arrivals day. Items available to pre-order and collect at the RSIC2023 are:
Round Square pin badge £3 each
Spinner pen £3 each
Buff/ Bandana £5 each
Polo shirt £10 each
Earrings £10 per pair
Round Square will send you an invoice for the total amount of your order, which you can pay by bank transfer or by Paypal (a 5% surcharge is applied to Paypal transactions). Please ensure that you pay this invoice in advance of the RSIC as Round Square will only bring paid orders to Kenya for collection.
Post on social media using #RSIC2023 Use #RSIC2023 in all your social media posts and share your adventures with the Round Square Network! Before leaving home, please take a photo of your delegation and post it on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and copy @roundsquare and @Brookhouse in with the hashtag and introduce yourselves. We look forward to seeing you all in Kenya!