After a long preparation phase in Germany, our time at the MCC began in November. We were all warmly welcomed and immediately accepted into the MCC family. On the day of our arrival, the younger children, who were less shy than the older kids, showed and explained the kitchen, the goat shed, the rabbit hutches, and Emma’s vegetable garden to us. The first few days flew by! We played many games with the children, learned about their daily routine, and got a good workout.
We distributed the many printed photos from previous volunteers, along with the brought-along items, together with Mercy! Everyone was so happy! The children proudly showed us their photo treasures.
The children are on vacation from the end of October until the beginning of January, which means that daily life here at the home is organized a bit by a schedule. We supplemented this schedule with Mercy & Joseph and our ideas, so that the children have a variety of games, learning, and daily chores. The children are also divided into age-appropriate groups and receive their tasks accordingly from 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM. The younger ones collect trash from the ground outside and help Emma clean out the goat and rabbit sheds. The older ones go to the shamba with Boniface or assist Julius in the kitchen. Since the children’s concentration is best in the morning, they read from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM or do their holiday homework with the help of the tutor and the three of us. After the lunch break, we tackle different topics daily: Monday – painting or crafts; Tuesday – competition day; Wednesday – jogging and/or Taekwondo with Matron Miriam; Thursday – workshop on various current topics here at the home; Friday – our free day, which also means a free afternoon for the children.
On Monday, Daya led a painting workshop. The children tried their hand at portrait painting using simple shapes and lines. They sat across from each other in pairs and painted each other. The others helped the children who were struggling, so that in the end, everyone held their own portrait.
Tuesday is competition day! Each week, a different group of children takes turns competing, while the remaining kids cheer them on and/or help us with counting or setting up. The groups are randomly divided into teams of two, so no single child is compared to the others, which strengthens the team spirit. We adapt the individual challenges to the respective age group – the younger ones get easier tasks like jump rope or hula hooping, while the older ones get more difficult ones, such as crossing the slackline or seeing who can do the most pull-ups. In the end, there is always a winning team, which is rewarded with a cool medal. All participating children also receive a small treat, which they are very happy about.
The Taekwondo class on Wednesday with Matron Miriam was very interesting and at the same time strenuous for both us and the children. Through Taekwondo, the children learn self-defense, discipline, and it strengthens their cohesion.
Our first workshop on Thursday focused on safety in everyday life and during play, mutual consideration, and first aid. We set up a kind of theater-style seating arrangement for the children in the common room so that everyone could see the short explanatory videos and us, and in turn, we could keep an eye on everyone. After the videos, we summarized them together again and asked various questions. Everyone was very attentive and participated well.
On Friday, our day off, we ventured to Tala, the next larger town. While shopping there, we were shocked to notice that prices in Kenya hardly differ from ours in Germany anymore. For example, a 500g piece of cheese costs around 8 Euros – making it a luxury item that only the wealthier can afford. The majority of the population, the poor, stand in front of full supermarket shelves and cannot buy anything, as most earn only about 150 Euros PER MONTH.
After three weeks, we went on our first house visits with social worker Mercy to understand the circumstances from which our MCC children come. It was shocking for us to see how impoverished the conditions were there. At the same time, it opened our eyes to how well our resident children are doing: 3-4 meals a day, running water, and, above all, plenty of time to play. Most “community” children, meaning those whom our association supports financially (especially with school supplies, uniforms, etc.) but who live at home, receive only one meal a day and now, during the holidays, have to help their parents or grandparents on the farm. On the way, we saw some of the children in the fields. There is no age limit; every child has to help. At their homes, we were always welcomed absolutely warmly by the (grand)parents, and they were all thrilled about our visit and showed us their homes.
During our stay at the home, several things were repaired. For example, since the rabbit hutches were quite dilapidated after many years of use, new ones were built. With the help of some of the older children, new wooden hutches were created, where several rabbits now have space and even the newborns feel comfortable.
One wish of the children was for us to cook spaghetti with them. So Yannick went shopping with Julius’s quantities: 20x 400g pasta, 2 bulbs of garlic, 2.5 kg tomatoes, and 0.5 kg onions. That’s all it takes to cook for 39 children + 4 adults! Luckily, Julius reminded us that the water takes 1.5 hours to heat up. So we lit the wood stove and started chopping vegetables with the children. Since it was so difficult for us to estimate the temperatures on the stove, the older girls helped us with the cooking. Our brought-along Maggi Bolognese packets were great, as they added a lot of flavor to the sauce in no time. We then cooked the pasta in portions, hoping it wouldn’t stick together. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage that, and it turned into a huge lump! The children didn’t care – as long as it was pasta! We also really enjoyed the pasta with tomato sauce, as it was a welcome change from Kenyan dishes.
After a few weeks, the three of us went on a three-day safari to the Masai Mara. Since we were so impressed and can’t quite put into words what we experienced, here’s a short text that we think captures it very well:
“To immerse yourself in the raw wilderness of Kenya is a feeling that cannot be described. Experiencing the power and strength of nature reminds you of your place in the world.
Humility – that’s what we felt out there. Trips like these have the power to reset your mind and guide it in the right direction!” (Tafanistravelers @Instagram)
After the children, along with Matron Miriam, repeatedly spoke with sparkling eyes about their visit to the swimming pool with previous volunteers, we were persuaded to plan a swimming day for the Center and Community Kids. First, however, we had to raise about 700 Euros for it. So we posted a video about the MCC and our work here on Insta and asked friends and relatives for donations. It was only on the second call, through Quinoah, Barbara’s brother, who has a wider reach, that we reached the sum. Many thanks to all donors! Everyone’s anticipation was already great. Since there were 83 children, we divided them into two groups. In our last week at the home, we then went swimming with the first group of children on Friday and the second on Saturday. While the younger children were driven to Savannah Lodge by school bus, we walked 4 kilometers with the older ones. When we arrived at the swimming pool after our march, the little ones were already waiting excitedly in front of the pool, and not a minute more could be wasted! So we quickly changed and then let everyone into the water at once – a huge water fight began! At first, we were a little worried about the little ones who couldn’t swim, but they voluntarily stayed only in the children’s pool. With the water polo ball we brought, the kids had a lot of fun and, among other things, had races to see who was first to the ball. After they had spent several hours playing in the water and then all sat shivering in the warm sun, there was lunch with fries, chicken, and vegetables. Afterward, they were allowed to go into the water for another hour before all the children returned to the MCC by school bus at the end of the day. Exhausted but very satisfied, the children and we fell into our beds – an exciting, successful day!
ASANTE SANA – once again, many thanks for every donation that made it possible for the children to experience such a special day during their holidays!
Wow, two months flew by so quickly! Our time here at the MCC was short, but thanks to the children’s long holidays, we were able to experience so much with them and gained a very intense, exciting, fun, and also challenging insight into daily life during the so-called “free” time! The MCC staff do an incredible job, raising 39 children aged 5-17 and guiding them on their life paths. For them, we wish the kids nothing but the best and hope they take advantage of the opportunity they receive through the program.
We hope they all remain as relaxed as we observed, because one sentence that will certainly stick with us is 100% true:
“Germans have the clock, Kenyans have the time!”
We will never forget everything we experienced in the past few months! We will especially remember the children’s laughter and their shining eyes.
Barbara Hansen, Yannick Smolik, and Daya Schwarz