“New month – new volunteers” — since the beginning of August, we, Jonas, Sophia, and Lena, have arrived safely at the MCC Maisha Mazuri Children Centre. We were warmly welcomed by all the staff and especially by the kids, and we immediately took them all to our hearts.
Since it was still vacation time at the beginning of the month, the hustle and bustle started right away; there was playing, dancing, singing, baking, painting, and crafting. That’s probably how we learned all the kids’ names the fastest, and we’ve had the chance to get to know some great, new, little personalities.
To make the vacation program as special as possible for everyone, we took all the kids from the MCC to the nearby Savannah Lodge right at the start. There, everyone could let off steam on the playground with the carousel and bouncy castle before finally heading to the long-awaited lunch: chicken with fries and Fanta! After a short break for digestion, no one could stay in their seat anymore; all the kids ran to the water and jumped into the pool with excitement. Some got a little swimming lesson, and in general, there was a lot of playing, splashing, and shouting. At the end of the day, both the kids and all the adults drove home with big grins.
During the week, we volunteers were shown everything around the MCC. We got a glimpse into life here, helped water various plants on the shamba (farm), sowed new ones, or harvested some. We also got to support the social workers Mercy and Joseph and were able to get a first impression of the secondary school.
Since our cook was on vacation, Nancy and the kids showed us what needs to be done in the kitchen, how different dishes are prepared, how to make chapati, and how many dirty plates there are to wash every day—but also how nice it can be to help out in the kitchen together. We cooked a huge portion of spaghetti with tomato sauce together, where everyone helped with the chopping.
Now our first weeks at the MCC are over, school starts again tomorrow, and we will get to know a new daily routine here. For the last day of vacation, we walked to the hyena caves in the morning and were all able to crawl through some dark, narrow caves together.
The first weeks at the MCC were very interesting and exciting for all of us. We met many new people, made new friends, tried new food, explored new places, experienced how much you can stand out as a ‘white person’ in Kenya, and above all, we found a new home at the MCC.
Asante Sana – thank you very much!
Jonas, Sophia, and Lena