About VFA

Mission | Staff

Download Volunteer Job Application Form Here 

View Volunteer Positions Available Now! 

View Current NGO/CBO Job Positions in E & C Africa Here 

View Community Projects to Participate in Here 

Find out More About VFA Supported Projects/Organizations Here

Select the Work- Camp you Wish to Participate in Here

Information About Kenya 

Information About Tanzania 

Rwanda | Burundi 

Information About Uganda 

Congo DRC | Somalia 

Our Partners in Development | Contact VFA Today 

Meru- Eastern- Kenya Work Camp!!

The Meru people live on the slopes of Mt Kenya. They are good agricultural people, have a rich culture and are the closest relatives to the Kikuyu, Kenyas largest tribe.

The Meru people live primarily on and adjoining the northeastern slope of Mount Kenya. The name "Meru" refers to both the people and the location, as for many years there was only one geo-political district for the Meru people. This changed in 1992 when the district was divided into three: Meru, Nyambene, and Tharaka-Nithi. These people are unrelated to the Meru people in north Tanzania.

Numbering just under one and a half million, the Bantu-speaking Meru comprise several tribes or sub-groups, including the Igembe, Igoji, Imenti, Miutini and Tigania (who comprise the five pre-colonial sections), and the Muthambi and Mwimbi. To each other, their identity is determined by these sections, and within each section by clan affiliations, but to outsiders, they will state their identity as Meru.

The Chuka and Tharaka are sometimes also included under Meru, but their oral histories and religions are markedly different, and are culturally much closer to the Embu. 

Taken as a whole, the Meru have one of the most detailed and potentially confusing oral histories of any people in Kenya. It is also one of the most deeply intriguing, at least from a Western point of view, as it contains extremely strong Biblical similarities that suggest to some that they may once have been one of the Lost Tribes of Israel, and to others that they were once Jewish, in the same way that the Falashim of Ethiopia remain Jewish to the present day. This history includes a good part of both Old and New Testament stories: a baby in a basket of reeds who becomes a leader and a prophet, the massacre of newly born babies by an evil king, an exodus, the parting and crossing of the waters by an entire nation, Aaron's Rod in the form of a magic spear or staff, the leadership of a figure comparable to Moses, references to ancient Egypt (Misiri), and so on.

Although society has changed enormously since colonization, a number of important social and cultural traditions remain, either in their original form, or in a shape adapted to modern-day realities.

Notable among these is their system of government by a council of elders (Njuri-Ncheke), which, as far as I know, is the only traditional judicial body to be legally recognized in modern Kenya. Also remarkable is the modern version of their female circumcision ceremony, which appears to be gradually gaining ground throughout the population. Called 'Circumcision through Words', the new ceremony almost exactly mirrors the traditional rituals, with the exception that the physical action of cutting has been replaced with symbols and certificates. The initiative is supported not only by various women's groups and NGOs, but by the ultra-conservative Njuri-Ncheke themselves.
All this points to a people hopeful that their traditions may yet survive, although it must be said that a large part of their customs - and almost all of their religion - have already vanished.
Geographically, the Meru occupy three districts (Meru, Nyambene and Tharaka-Nithi), located to the north and northeast of Mount Kenya, including its slopes. Their territory ranges northwards to the volcanic Nyambene (Njombeni) Hills, which are the historical heartland of all the central highlands Bantu (ie. the Kikuyu, Kamba, Embu, Mbeere and Chuka). To the south, their area is bounded by the Thuchi River, beyond which live the Embu and Kamba terrain.
Meru District is generally fertile, making agriculture the primary means of sustenance, although large parts of the other two districts are either semi-arid (especially in the north), or covered with jungly forest, much of which is protected as national park or forest reserve. As a result, population pressure has become a major problem in recent years, leading to encroachments on gazetted land, and helping to explain - in part, at least - the explosion of elephant and rhino poaching which devastated Meru National Park in the 1970s and 1980s, and indirectly led to the murder of renowned international ecologist and film-maker, George Adamson, in 1989.
Facts & Figures

Also known as: Ameru, Mumeru, Kimeru, Mero, Ameroe, Meroe (probable). Various subgroups/sections include the Igembe, Igoji, Imenti, Miutini, Muthambi, Mwimbi (Kimwimbi, Muthambi) and Tigania. The Chuka and Tharaka are sometimes also included, but they are quite distinct, and culturally least related.
   The Kenyan Meru are separate from the Tanzanian Meru (or Rwo), although they may be linked historically.
Ethnic group: Generally considered to be Bantu, some studies show that some were originally Cushitic or Cushitic-speaking in origin. For those who insist on classifications, here's the usual list: Central Bantu, Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantoid, Southern, Narrow Bantu, Central, Kikuyu-Kamba.
Neighbouring tribes: Samburu, Somali, Kikuyu, Chuka, Embu, Kamba, Borana (?), Pokomo(?).
Language: Meru (or Kimeru), which bears close resemblance to both Kikuyu and Kamba. Dialects include Imenti, Igembe, Tigania, Miutini, Igoji, and Mwimbi-Muthambi (two related dialects). The Imenti dialect appears to be dominant.
   85% lexical similarity between Imenti and Tigania, 67% similarity with Chuka, 63% with Embu and Kikuyu, 57% with Kamba. 25% to 50% literate.
Population: The last two estimates are similar, giving 1,305,000 (1994) and 1,300,000 (1996), up from 1,087,778 in 1989. 5.6% of Kenya's population.
Location: Meru, Nyambene and Tharaka-Nithi Districts, Eastern Province, to the north and northeast of Mount Kenya, including its slopes and the volcanic Nyambene Hills to the north.

Way of life: Mixed agriculture economy of cultivation and animal husbandry. Many are now urban dwellers.
Religion: Only figures available state 54% traditional religion, 45% Christian, 1% Muslim. Christianity is in the ascendant, and is most likely now professed by the majority of the Meru.
Dates: The work camp takes place between December 1 to 14, 2003. The theme will be social development. The St Francis Childrens Home in Meru requires support to build a dining room. Participants could contribute the cost of purchase of building material.

Ages: Only those above the age of 14 shall be entitled to the work-camp. It requires energy and participation inputting up the classroom structure. Funds contributed by the volunteers will go towards purchase of materials, accommodation, transport and meals. The camp costs US $ 300. Volunteers will be shown how the funds have been utilized.

Excursions: Excursions to Mt Kenya National park, Mwea National Reserve and to some community ecotourism sites possible. Guided tours will be organized by the East African Ecotourism, Development and Conservation Consultants.

What to Bring:

Its advisable for the participants to bring with them learning materials to share with the children, small presents for the school, other small gifts like pens, pencils, rubber, toys etc. Please also carry your first aid tablets, anti malaria tablets and maybe some sun lotion. Toiletries are a MUST to be carried. Have good hiking gear, your African Wildlife and Birds guidebook or any other information you feel you will need in your tours or work camp. Building materials shall be provided by VFA and the local host CBO, the Meru Catholic Children's Home.

It will be possible to stay in one of the homes, and experience real Meru. A total of 5 homes are ready to host volunteers. If in need please contact us in advance. The cost is US $ 20 per night to cater for bed, dinner and breakfast.

It will also be possible to purchase local handicrafts made by women at a very low price. The women work inform of Community Associations to sustainably utilize local materials and share together in community development. You purchase directly from the makers of the products, no middlemen. The capacity for this camp is 18 persons so hurry up and book your space.

Fill in the APPLICATION now and book your lifetime chance to know more about the Meru agricultural way of life and many more breathtaking scenarios. All at a reasonable cost.

Contact ECODECO Consult for information about cost of the park tours and other excursions not covered in this work-camp..

Call (254) 72 240 7558 for more information, or email vfa@avu.org.