June – August 2025
Jambo from Kenya! For our volunteer team, Mykolas, Anton, and Anna, our time in Kenya is coming to an end, and it is with a heavy heart that we have to say goodbye to the MCC and all the wonderful people there after two months. That’s why we want to summarize our time here in this report and share all the beautiful and special moments we’ve collected.
Karibu sana! (A warm welcome!)
The first volunteers of our group, Anton and Anna from Germany, arrived at the MCC on June 24 and were warmly welcomed and immediately shown around the grounds by the children. From then on, it was time to learn names! Not so easy when there are three Moses, two Catherines, and two Victorias, but after a week, everyone really had the names down. We arrived during the last week of vacation, so the children stayed at the MCC all day, which allowed us to spend a lot of time together right at the beginning and get to know each other well. Over the course of the week, we also met the whole staff, who also welcomed us warmly. Boniface took us to the farm, Emma showed us the rabbits and goats, and we were allowed to help Julius in the kitchen. Since all the children are enthusiastic soccer players, there was a multi-day soccer tournament where we volunteers were allowed to play on our favorite teams. On the weekend, we experienced making chapati for the first time. Not so easy to roll out a round chapati! On Sunday, we attended the church service with the kids, which you really can’t compare to a German one. There was a lot of singing and dancing, and the MCC kids even performed a dance. Our first project was to design name tags for the bedroom doors. Everyone had a lot of fun with the bright colors and brushes.
Karibu Mykolas! (Welcome Mykolas!)
In our second week, the children went back to school and we set up our timetable with Mercy and Joseph. It’s pretty quiet at the MCC without the kids! On Tuesday, we were allowed to accompany Mercy on a home visit. It was always so interesting for us to see how the locals live here and what difficulties they have to struggle with. But this family was a very good example of how the support from “Maisha Mazuri” can bear fruit. Animals such as rabbits, goats, chickens, and ducks are provided, which the family can then breed, sell, or use as a food source themselves. In the home we visited, we found many baby rabbits and little chicks. The goat was also doing well. On Wednesday, our team was finally complete. Mykolas from Lithuania arrived and accompanied us on his very first day to AMM Secondary, where we met the principal, Nicholas, and introduced ourselves to all the classes. In the afternoons, we helped the kids with their homework and took part in Mirriam’s Taekwondo lessons. On Friday, we went to Tala for the first time. Luckily, Mirriam accompanied us, as all the “Muzungu” (Swahili: white person) shouts and waving hands from all sides were quite overwhelming at first. On Friday evening, we ended the school week with a campfire, where we grilled sausages and stick bread and sang bonfire songs together. Since we volunteers also wanted to interact more with the secondary students, we organized a soccer tournament on Sunday, which everyone enjoyed. It’s fascinating how well these children play on the stony, dusty ground, often only in their flip-flops.
Bon appetito!
At the beginning of the next week, we felt the political tensions in Kenya, as the children could not go to school on Monday due to GEN Z protests. Luckily, the situation had calmed down by the next day.
In the mornings, we helped Boniface dig up the fields, Phillip bake buns and mandazi, and Julius wash and cut sukumawiki. On Tuesday, we had an Italian dinner, for which we decorated the kitchen in an Italian style. Everyone loved the spaghetti with tomato sauce and the Italian muffins for dessert.
In the secondary math class, we felt like students again ourselves and tried to use our math skills—some of us more successfully than others. It was very interesting to see what the graduating class in Kenya learns compared to the graduating class in Germany. We also had the opportunity to visit the secondary clubs. Everything from dancing and home science to poetry is included.
Anton and Mykolas organized an obstacle course with the kids. No way you can run through it as fast as some of the kids. We used our day off to visit Nairobi. On the weekend, we witnessed a chicken slaughter. Five chickens had to go for dinner, but as Jackson would say: “Don’t worry about the chicken.” On Saturday, the director Jimmy Kilonzi paid a visit to the MCC, so we had the opportunity to introduce ourselves. Anton and Anna took the kids for a run. On Sunday, we attended the secondary church service, which also involves a lot of singing and dancing. On Sunday evening, we turned a classroom into a movie theater and watched “Pirates of the Caribbean” with the secondary students. Of course, popcorn and juice were a must.
Hongera! (Congratulations!)
Our fourth week started with a meeting with Mercy, Joseph, and Nicholas, where we talked about our donations and our planned projects.
We did a home visit that was much more shocking than the first one. It was the first time for us to see a family that cannot afford three meals a day. It is very interesting to see the circumstances the kids come from.
In the evenings, we started doing handwriting exercises with some of the kids to improve their school performance. For one evening, we prepared a quiz where the kids competed against each other in groups. What does Julius like better – buns or mandazi? (Answer: it’s buns ;))
On Saturday, we were able to witness a graduation at the Skills Center in Malaa. It was nice to see so many young people finishing their training. All the children from the MCC were allowed to go along and performed their Taekwondo skills together with Anton. On Sunday, we left for Nairobi, as we would be climbing Mount Kenya starting Monday.
Twende! (Let’s go!)
On Monday, we set off for Mount Kenya. Four days of hiking lay ahead of us. Our team consisted of two guides, two porters, and a cook. It was a unique experience. All the freezing, the effort, and the early rising were forgotten when we stood on the highest mountain in Kenya at sunrise on the third day. The trip was very beautiful, but it was at least as beautiful to return to the MCC and be welcomed by all the children. The next few days we planned more for the secondary students, as they had finished their exams and would soon be returning home. Nevertheless, Anton baked German bread with the kids on Saturday, which everyone found very tasty. On Sunday evening, we did a quiz with the secondary students, where even the teachers sometimes didn’t know the answer.
Kwaherini! (Goodbye!)
Since Monday was the last day for the secondary students, there was a big soccer tournament where the forms (classes) competed against each other. Form 4 remained undefeated until the final against the staff team, in which Mykolas was celebrated as the top scorer. We ended the evening with another part of “Pirates of the Caribbean.” The next day it was time to say goodbye, which wasn’t easy for anyone, as we had formed real friendships with the secondary students. The rest of the week, we spent our time again with the MCC kids, for whom the vacation had also already begun. We made bracelets together and, with Phillip’s help, made very delicious cinnamon rolls, which we ate as a snack during the movie. On the weekend, the secondary laundry lines were replaced with the help of the older boys from the MCC. On Sunday, we set off on our last trip. We visited the soccer stadium in Nairobi to watch the Kenya vs. Congo match – Kenya won 1-0!
Hakuna matata (No worries)
On Monday, we set off for the Masai Mara National Park. We were lucky and saw the Big 5. When we returned on Thursday, we showed the children photos of our trips in a small presentation. On the weekend, Anton and Mykolas started to realize one of our larger projects with the kids: a workbench. Anton had already bought all the tools in Nairobi, and now it was time to build the table. The workbench is intended to be in the secondary home science classroom and will be available for the secondary students, who have more practical tasks in their new schedule, but also for the MCC staff if something needs to be repaired. We also repaired the secondary volleyball net, as the posts were rotten. On Sunday, we had another bonfire.
Asante sana! (Thank you very much!)
Our last week at the MCC. We can hardly believe how fast the time has passed. For the last week, we had planned a lot of projects again. Every afternoon, a different group was allowed to go to the supermarket in Nguluni. It’s fascinating how much you get for 100 shillings. We also continued working on the workbench, which was completed on the Saturday before our departure and was also inaugurated immediately. Anton built a wooden ship with the kids, which we let float in the river. We also took care of the delivery of new fabric for the secondary curtains with Joseph’s help. On Friday, we officially said goodbye in a small “farewell meeting.” We are very grateful for the time at the MCC; it is a wonderful place and we will miss every single person. Asante sana!
Mykolas, Anton, and Anna