Youth Hostelling in kenya and world.

100 Years History of World Hostelling.

The idea of the youth hostel movement was born in Germany way back in 1909 when a German school teacher, the late Richard Schirrmann, concerned that his pupils knew so little about the surrounding countryside. He started the idea of providing simple overnight accommodation for his classes during their explorations of the country. He arranged hikes for his pupils and more permanent accommodation began to be provided in hostels. As these came to be known, the idea spread to other countries in Europe and later to other continents.

The first youth hostels, established in Central Europe from 1909 onwards, were intended to help young people and specially school children to escape from industrial cities to the clear air and refreshing peace of the countryside and to restore their lost contact with nature. With this went an encouragement for walking as a healthy and inexpensive recreation for school children. Such trips in the country could have an important educational purpose. The whole class, with its teacher, could study plant life, animal life, geology, agriculture and many other subjects, bringing to life the book learning of the city to the countryside. For young adults, exploring the country on their own or with one or two friends, seeking an economical bed each night at a youth hostel, there was a valuable development of character and initiative, routes to be planned, maps to be studied, equipment and food to be prepared, then, in the hostel, a share in the domestic duties, from potato peeling to sweeping of floors.

It became apparent that an equally valuable function of the youth hostel was to bring together young people of different backgrounds, occupation, religious or political beliefs. In a hostel, the university student or the rich man's son enjoy no advantage over the apprentice or young labourer. It is not money, education or dress with win respect, but friendly camaraderie. The International Youth Hostel Federation, which is the federation of independent national associations, was formed in 1932.

Over the years, the movement has actually spread to all parts of the world in over 60 countries and has a network of about 4500 hostels worldwide.

What is the meaning of youth hostels?

A Youth Hostel is a building which offers inexpensive accommodation to young people exploring their country or the world, it also provides a meeting place in which young people of different social back ground, opinion and nationality can meet and come to know each other.

Its function is educational in the widest sense of the world.Hostels provide friendly, inexpensive overnight accommodations for travellers. Hostelling International hostels assure travellers the utmost in quality standards including cleanliness, security ,comfort and service.

Hostels offer dormitory-style rooms with separate quarters for men and women. Some hostels also have private family and couples rooms. All hostels provide a blanket and pillow. Linens are often included in the price, or available for rental in some hostels .

Most hostels offer fully equipped self-service kitchens or cafeterias, dining areas, secure storage and common rooms for relaxing and socializing with other travellers. Some hostels have laundry facilities, travel libraries and concierge service. There are a few that even have  swimming pools, Our mission is "to help all, especially the young, gain a greater understanding of the world and its people through hostelling." The mission is accomplished through our extensive network of hostels offering a wide-range of programs and activities.

A founder of the Youth Hostels Network  Richard Shirmann said: "Every forest, every valley, every flower, every mountain, every village and every city are separate pages of your Motherland. You should read these pages in your own experience and not in books.

The Earth is huge. When you travel, you see the details, and this is the biggest joy on the planet. For this purpose we are now opening Youth Hostels.

However, you also need to travel outside your country, to meet your neighbours, to know them better and to appreciate those who speak other language and have different history. To do this, I am now calling upon you, our friends and neighbours, to open Youth Hostels and to do it for all young people on the Earth. They must become places of peace and comfort for the good of all humanity.

Trade mark "Youth Tourism & Hostels of Kenya" creates own youth hostels chain and cooperates with youth hostels in Kenya like tour operator, marketing adviser and activities coordinator. We offer to our clients Hostel Trips - tours which are based on accommodation in hostels.

Kenya Youth Hostels Association

The initiative for the launching of the youth hostel movement in kenya was taken way back to early 1957, when a past president of the International Youth hostel Federation, the late Mr. E. St. John catchpoll visited Kenya and induced certain socially active personalities to start it in Kenya.

Most of those people are no longer with us. Among them were people like Sir Godfrey Rhodes, Dr.L.S.B. Leakey, Mr. Edmund Crosher, Mr. Musa Amalemba, Hon. Jeremiah Nyaga, Mr. G.S, Amar, Sir D.Q. Erskine and Mr. Acharya. They took up the challenge and asked the then Kenya Federation of Social Services to convene a meeting to make suggestions on the possibility of starting a Youth Hostel Association here.

The first party was convened by this Federation on Monday 29th April 1957 (our foundation day) and met in Armstrong house, Delamere Avenue (now Kenyatta Avenue). Nairobi was under Mr. D.Q. Erskine's chairmanship.

This, in effect was the founding of the Kenya Youth Hostel Association (KYHA). These early efforts received a tremendous boost when through the good offices of Mr. St. John CatchPool, $1500 was donated to KYHA ad-hoc committee in 1959-60 by the Dulverton Trust.

This donation assisted the committee in efforts to develop a good network in Kenya in those early days as it was not enough to purchase any significant building.

In 1966, the then Minister for Health, Hon. John C.N. Osogo, who at the time was the chairman of KYHA convinced the International Youth Hostel federation that KYHA was not only alive and kicking but that it was able to fulfil the minimum conditions required to affiliate with the parent body. Then, Kenya, on the same year became part of the International Youth Hostel Federation.

In 1976, KYHA bought an old house on Ralf Bunche road through funds that were generated from membership fees and overnight collections form Nairobi Youth Hostel as well as from the kind support of the International Youth Hostel Federation, The German Youth Hostels, YHA of England, Wales and the Kenya Government.

The youth hostel in nairobi, which still stands, became the secretariat of the Kenya Youth Hostels Association and has been redeveloped to match the International Standards of youth hostels as set by the hostelling international.