2024 Engaging Africa Travel Experiences

50 years of the KSP | 1974 - 2024

Two unique travel experiences will take place in June and July of 2024.

The first trip, “Relive the Student Experience,” is designed as a shorter and more cost effective chance to connect with the current program staff and host-communities in the region—particularly for those alumni who may only be able to get away for less than two weeks.

The second trip, "Conservation, Community Engagement and the Indian Ocean World," builds on the models of our 2019 and 2022 alumni trips, but with expanded location and new experiences for those who want a slightly extended visit.

Both trips are open to alumni, friends and family ages 13 and up as it is a great way to connect the next generation of Laurentians to the powerful impact of the historic SLU-Kenya connection. Whether you are returning to Kenya or it is your first time, all Laurentians are welcome.

Karibuni Nyumbani (Welcome Home)

For 50 years, St. Lawrence Kenya Semester Program has built a unique connection with East Africa. By 2024, more than 2,300 students from over forty different universities have spent a semester or summer term in East Africa via the Kenya Program or KSP. Our two 2024 trips offer alumni an exclusive chance to celebrate and experience some of this rich history. Led by renowned Kenya program faculty and staff, participants will explore the program themes of culture, environment and development through an interactive and invigorating experience based on the traditions of the KSP’s past and present.

Welcome to the KSP family (Karibuni)

Trip Highlights:

• Explore Kenya’s diverse cultures and environments
• Stay on the St. Lawrence Nairobi Campus
• Meet Kenyan based alumni, and program partners
• Engage with rural homestay families
• View student internship sites
• Visit world class sites of wildlife conservation
• Experience the unique the SLU-Kenya connection

Trip Leaders:

Dr. Matt Carotenuto: is professor of history at St. Lawrence and the Hanson Associate Dean of International and Intercultural Studies. He is also an alumnus of the Kenya program ’98. His research has long explored the politics of identity in Kenya and he is the co-author of Obama and Kenya: Contested Histories and the Politics of Belonging. He has also coordinated the St. Lawrence African studies program and is the on-campus coordinator for the Kenya program.

Dr. Abdelwahab Sinnary: has been the Academic Director of the KSP since 2004. He is Sudanese by birth and has done his graduate training and all subsequent work in Kenya. As a conservation biologist, he has worked closely with local and international wildlife conservation groups such as the Machakos Wildlife Forum and the Kenya Wildlife Service. Prior to joining the KSP he was a director for the School for Field Studies Program in Kenya.

Lina Karingi: is the Director for Finance and Administration. She joined the Program in 2002. Lina’s undergraduate and post graduate training is in Economics, Business Administration and Law. She worked in diverse sectors before joining St. Lawrence, at the International Center for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), the Kenya Finance Bank and Kuona Trust. She is a full member of the Institute of Human Resources Management.

Dr. Michael Wairungu: joined the program in 2018 as an Assistant Director of Student Life and Academic Instruction. He holds a Ph.D. in Linguistic Anthropology from the University of Virginia. Prior to joining the KSP, he was an Assistant Professor, and coordinator of Swahili at Northwestern University. He also taught Swahili and various courses in Linguistic Anthropology at Stanford University, University of Virginia and the University of the South. Besides teaching, Michael worked as a curriculum designer and specialist of Swahili at the Diplomatic Language Services in the U.S.

Njau Kibochi: is the program’s longtime transportation coordinator and has been a friend and mentor to hundreds of alumni. He is also an avid birder.