No Hurry in Africa

by Brendan Clerkin

Part travelogue, part diary of a volunteer, this is an account of a gap year in East Africa. It takes the reader on a roller-coaster ride from the slums of Nairobi to the snow-capped summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, and from the Turkana desert to exotic Zanzibar. The author's motives for going there after leaving college were to seek what might be the last great adventure of his youth; to avoid the responsibilities of the real world as long as possible; and, through voluntary work, perhaps to 'do some good in the world.' On arrival in Kenya in September 2005, Brendan worked for months on a project to establish a village for AIDS orphans and their carers in the remote Kitui region, working among the genial Akamba tribe. He befriended a gallery of saints, sinners and eccentrics - both African and European. The book is an engaging narrative through a full year in Africa, bulging with amusing personal anecdotes, sprinkled with interesting stories of Kenya past and present, and full of personal insights that will challenge any reader's view of Africa and her people.

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008