Volunteers from Jeneration, the pluralist initiative for students and young adults, spent a fortnight in Kenya helping out at a primary school for disadvantaged children and an orphanage.
The group - from London, Essex, Manchester, Nottingham and Sheffield - decorated two derelict classrooms at the school and taught a variety of subjects. At the orphange, they cooked, cleaned and taught English, science and maths.
Participant Stan Collins said: "I will never forget the headmaster of the orphanage telling us just how much a smile from a volunteer can brighten a child's day because they see that somebody cares.
"Just like the Jews, the Kenyans are a proud people. They wanted us to take away from our experience not how little but how much they have."
Group members also pledged to continue supporting Kenyan projects through fundraising.