What would persuade a young woman from Finland or a young man from Kenya to travel to a tiny mid-Atlantic speck about which they knew nothing, to spend a hot, steamy summer instructing kids on an island within an island?

The answer is: "The same thing that attracts Bermudian youngsters to the Outward Bound programme - the spirit of adventure."

Back in her native Finland, university graduate Tupu Ahonen is continuing her sports studies at Lahti Polytechnics with a view to a career which combines sports instruction and travel.

There, one of her teachers is involved with Outward Bound, so she was already familiar with the organisation, but it was actually through her boyfriend that she learned of the Bermuda opening for a volunteer instructor.

"He couldn't come himself and suggested that I come instead, so I said, 'OK, that sounds very good, very interesting'," Miss Ahonen says. "But one of the main reasons for coming here was to improve my English, as well as to learn new things. The high rope course, for example, has been a 'first'."

Reviewing the first five weeks of her three-month stay, the young Finn says that Bermuda is "very different" to what she expected, and she is a little surprised to find that Outward Bound participants here don't camp under canvas.

Although this is her first stint as an Outward Bound instructor, Miss Ahonen has done a lot of instructing in the course of her studies at home, and is well versed in many, many sports, including swimming. She is also very experienced at working with children - but not at working in summer heat of Bermuda's magnitude.

"It gets warm in Finland, but not this warm - I'm boiling every day!" she says, wiping her brow.

Other marked differences between the two countries are the vegetation, the lack of seasons, and size.

"Nature here is much more exotic than in Finland, and we have four distinct seasons."

Renting a scooter one day, an experience she describes as "crazy but fun", the instructor enjoyed exploring the mainland, and concluded, "It is not a very big island but it is very beautiful".

She is happy to note that her boyfriend has been here to see her, and says she would have no hesitation in returning to Outward Bound again if the opportunity presented itself.

"Bermuda is a very good experience which will enable me to work with people from other countries," she says. "Next year there is going to be a wonderful Outward Bound programme which is new here."

Kenyan Canute Waswa Ochieng' is no stranger to Outward Bound, being first an instructor and now a national assessor for the organisation in his country. As such, he is well used to mountaineering, orienteering, camping, wild animals and the wilderness; but water-related sports were totally foreign to him until he came here.

A recent graduate of the University of Ejerton near Nakuru, Kenya, who holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and geography, Mr. Ochieng' knew that his future career must be nature-oriented, based on his passion for the wonders of nature and his long involvement in outdoor activities (he also holds a Duke of Edinburgh gold award and sat on its steering committee in university), which he loves.

Having never been abroad before, he decided the time was right to gain international experience and interact with other nationalities, so he wrote to the editor of the Outward Bound newsletter outlining his qualifications and desires, and asked for advice on where he could gain the optimum experience which was very different to anything he already knew in its schools.

"I was given a number of options in English-speaking countries which had programmes similar to Kenya, and lo and behold I decided to try Bermuda," Mr. Ochieng' says. "I had never heard of the Island, except the Bermuda triangle, and this is my first time overseas."

While pointing out that he would be very welcome, local Outward Bound coordinator Mark Norman warned that Bermuda's programme was very different to Kenya's, and was also water-based, of which Mr. Ochieng' had no experience. Undeterred, the charming volunteer instructor came anyway and has been delighted with his decision thus far - not least because of the familiar surroundings and all the new skills he has acquired.

"I looked at the ropes course, I looked at the places where we have our meetings, and everything, and I immediately felt just as though I was at home," Mr. Ochieng' says. "Also, I didn't know how to swim and now I do, thanks to Mark's young daughters, Emma and Laura, who taught me. Tupu taught me kayaking. The first time I capsized and couldn't swim, so I told her she saved my life. Now I go snorkelling and canoeing as well. In fact, don't be surprised if you hear I'm on the Kenyan kayaking Olympic team!"

The Kenyan is also thrilled with the way everyone has taken him to their hearts.

"It is just so beautiful for me interacting with these different people," he says. "I am so glad and grateful that I have been given a chance by the people of Bermuda. They have been family to me since I arrived."

Coming from a very different culture, Mr. Ochieng' has had to adjust to some fundamental differences between Bermudian and African children. Equally, he has enjoyed teaching our youngsters about his culture, telling them traditional stories, and teaching them the words to Swahili songs.

"Kids here are more liberal in expressing themselves," he says. "In our culture children are basically to be seen and not heard. Things like talking back to an elder are frowned upon by African society. Here I find kids actually grow up having to hold their own in terms of thinking and what they want to do, which in Africa would be interpreted as rude, so I have had to learn that."

In terms of their sociological identity versus their personal identity crisis in trying to find their personal levels, Mr. Ochieng' says there are similarities between Bermudian and African children.

"They want to be assertive yet in a sense they are still children, which means that society is expected to define to them what their role is going to be if they are going to develop as the leaders of tomorrow. I find it so amazing that, thousands of miles from home, human beings are human beings after all.

"In Africa we have a ritual when the boys go through circumcision as they cross from childhood into adulthood. During the healing process they have to live with their grandparents, so their rules are defined for them, what society expects from them, and how they should conduct themselves. In a sense, probably why we have Outward Bound in Bermuda is because it will help the young people to define that life is about tenacity in pursuit, and having an indefatigable spirit - 'Never give up, never give up'. Being a man or woman is about having judgment and foresight."

A deeply spiritual man, Mr. Ochieng' is happy to recall some of the memorable adventures that led to his association with Outward Bound in Kenya.

"The thing that struck me about the programme was that it included climbing mountains, and I was given a scholarship to do it. In fact, I was the best student of my year, so I was invited to go back the next year for an internship. Of course, given a chance to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, which is on the border of Kenya and Tanzania, for free I took it. It was the first time I had seen a glacier and snow. It was a four-in-one climb which takes you through the mountain's equatorial forest, where the flora and fauna are awesome; then the bamboo forest, with heath and moorland; then the rocks, and finally to the snow and ice. At that level you have to acclimatise because of the thinner air. By the grace of God I did it."

Asked to sum up this longed-for experience, the intrepid Kenyan instructor says: "Because of my Christian affirmation and my belief in God one thing came to mind: 'Go carefully for this place is high; go bravely where eagles fly; go eternally with Jesus tonight'. The Bible says 'It is a fool who says in his heart that there is no God', and it was just overwhelming to imagine that such a beautiful ecosystem exists on earth, and you come to realise that we should count our blessings and name them one by one."

In fact, the experience was so moving that Mr. Ochieng' has now climbed Kilimanjaro three times, and "each time was just as awesome".

His decision to become an Outward Bound instructor was an easy one, he says, based on his great love of the outdoors and the joy of interacting with others.

"Outward Bound is about human relations so in the process of interacting you are carrying out its philosophy: To serve, to strive and not to yield."

Would he come to Bermuda again?

"Of course I would," the delightful Kenyan responds.