Local woman takes charity work global

Thursday 08 August 2019

A bank employee in Guernsey has just returned from a 'once-in-a-lifetime' trip to Kenya, where she spent a week helping locals and meeting other employees from around the world.

Kelly Burdett won this year's RBC Global Citizenship Award in recognition of her community work in the island.

As part of the award she was sent, along with 49 other RBC employees, to a village called Bogani in the Massai Mara to help the charity 'Me to We'.

Pictured: Kelly Burdett with her certificate and RBC pin, which she wore in Kenya.

"I do a lot of work in the community," she said. "I've helped charities like Liberate and the Round Table for the Harbour Carnival.

"When I started at RBC, I joined the Charity of the Year committee. I help with a lot of events we do throughout the year with planning, organisation, money - everything."

The company's Global Citizenship scheme began in Canada, but was rolled out globally last year, when Ms Burdett originally put herself up for the award but missed out to Jersey's Alli Caldeira.

Pictured: Kelly Burdett carrying out tasks in Kenya.

"What I didn't know is that it gets rolled out into the next one, so it came as a surprise [this year] when I got an email to say 'you're going to Kenya'."

The trip lasted for ten days in total, with the RBC team spending around a week in Bogani.

"We did so much," Ms Burdett added. "On the first day that we arrived we met all of the other people from RBC. I was the only British person on my trip, so I met all of these people from Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Hong Kong and America.

Pictured: The RBC team was taken on a safari.

"When we flew out to Bogani there were so many activities, our days were jam-packed and there was no time to just chill. We visited some communities, we helped lay the foundations for a dormitory for the 'Me to We' college. We visited the hospital, the colleges, some schools, we went on a sunrise and sunset safari, learnt how to use the weapons of the warriors and learnt how to make them."

Although the employees were split into two groups throughout the days, they came together in the evenings at a camp where they ate and slept.

Pictured: Some of the Bogani locals.

"People shared stories over dinner as to how they got their award and what they had done in their communities," Ms Burdett continued. "We even had events put on for us in the evenings, so one night they turned the camp into a disco. We thought it was really funny that we were 6,000ft up in a mountain, nightclubbing surrounded by monkeys and goats and all sorts!"

Despite having a few months to prepare, Ms Burdett said she felt "petrified" before heading to Kenya.

Pictured: Kelly Burdett visited a giraffe sanctuary and elephant orphanage during her time in Kenya.

"You can plan for it to a degree, but you can't plan for the emotional side of things," she explained. Being there, you see how little some people have but they are still so happy and they've got a massive smile on their face. I definitely cam back and was more grateful for what I've got, because everybody's got worries in their life whether it be work, money or relationships. Over there you don't see any of that. They're all so happy for the littlest things that they've got. That always choked me a bit."

The trip was a first for Ms Burdett, who is looking at at taking her daughter on a trip with the 'Me to We' charity in the future.

"If I was to put a message out to people, it would be to take some time out to volunteer in the community," she said. "I think people sometimes let their own lives get in the way of helping others. It honestly just gives you the best feeling to help someone else and people are so grateful."