HILLINGDON children were visited by a volunteer from Nairobi's Mukuru Promotion Centre charity this week. MPC’s aim is to “assist in empowering the Mukuru community to self sufficiency”.

Victor Mutumah, 32, helps at MPC schools, whose pupils, without this project, would have no access to the education they so desperately need to escape the slums.

MPC educates children from Nairobi's slums, offering them a brighter future.

The project became linked to Heathrow Primary School via British Airways’ Global Community Project.

Sponsored by BA, teachers from Heathrow Primary visited a Mukuru school in 2008. A friendship began and, today, pupils across the borough raise money and send supplies, such as uniforms, to Mukuru schools.

Victor emphasised the positive effect Heathrow’s teachers had on the Mukuru children and hoped to do the same for youngsters in the borough.

He visited six borough schools, Heathrow Primary, Harmondsworth Primary, Charville Primary in Hayes, Whiteheath Junior in Ruislip and Frithwood Junior, Northwood.

He feels it’s important to visit schools and tell youngsters, in person, what good work they are doing.

"By hearing information from a person rather than the TV, children realise these problems are real,” he said.

"I think children here will be more mindful, responsible and appreciative of what they have as they've had an experience of what life's like on the other side."

Victor works for the Born Free Foundation, a charity protecting wild animals. His passion for helping Nairobi's vulnerable children sits hand in hand with his dedication to animal conservation.

He said: "Children have a lot of love for Kenya because of the special wildlife. "When I ask 'who wants to see a lion?' every hand goes up."

He explained that lions were particularly under threat. Numbers in the wild in Kenya have fallen from 20,000 in the 1970s to a mere 2000 today.

Part of this is down to lions preying on live-stock, then, in turn, being killed by tribes protecting their only source of income.

Victor explained: "You can see by the children's reactions they are affected and will tell their parents about it and will be more responsive to fund-raising in the future."

Born Free has a difficult job in Kenya. Not only are the animals struggling to survive, but so are many people.

Kenya relies heavily on wildlife for tourism, and it must protect this precious source of income.

"People are starving and poor,” he said, “but I have to tell them, if they kill all the animals, the country would be even poorer and life would be even harder."

He told me: "I have not regretted a minute of my time here in the UK. I am sure I have impacted on the children here."

Rachel Raven, a teacher at Heathrow Primary, said: "Victor's visit was wonderful. Our pupils were completely absorbed and stimulated by his talks. It’s so important for them to understand what life is like in other countries.”

www.mukurupromotioncentre.org www.bornfree.co.uk