Touching, moving, enlightening – these are the first words that come to mind about my trip to the Maisha Mazuri Children’s Center. I started completely unprepared at the end of October 2023, armed only with knowledge from the annual general meeting and the good feeling of supporting an organization, Hand in Hand für Kenia, where almost every donated cent goes directly to the site. That’s volunteering at its best! Even the drive from the airport to the school was filled with impressive roadside scenes. For me, as a newcomer to Kenya, it was a special journey. And then I was there. Surrounded by many friendly, laughing children, the place radiated an extraordinary calm and serenity from the very first moment. Let me repeat: 32 girls and boys around you, and the first impression is chill, relaxed, and balanced. You are welcomed with great warmth. If I’m not careful, this will turn into a declaration of love instead of the planned travel report.
So, back to day one and the pragmatic site visit: The open kitchen with Julius at the stove radiates such a pleasant atmosphere that you look forward to the Ugali, even if, admittedly, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. I supposedly start the arrival evening civilized with a spoon, only to happily use my fingers later. That adds a touch of local flair. The natural way the children help out is exemplary. They act among themselves like little elves. Hand in hand, indeed. I try with moderate success to remember names and match them to the right faces. I am positively surprised by our volunteer living area. Aside from the cold shower and the confused beetles falling from the ceiling, it’s quite comfortable up there on the first floor.
After the many first impressions on the evening of my arrival, I am tired, happy, and simply grateful to be here. In the following days, I get to know the versatile area with all its beauty, but also with all its still untapped potential. With Michael and Josef, we make our way to the Shamba. What a wonderful piece of land! Even after so many dry weeks. You immediately want to get to work there with Boniface; for him alone, it’s too much land to cultivate and work. In the afternoon, the legendary Jimmy is at the MCC, and I listen intently to the many topics Barbara and he have to discuss. The good, harmonious atmosphere in the team is evident during the MCC meeting with the ten permanent employees and the three volunteers.
However, despite all the many positive aspects, it becomes quite clear that there are more than enough challenges. Sometimes you wonder what would happen if you didn’t point out missing water tanks, broken photovoltaic systems, non-functioning gutters, and a thousand other things with a “German perspective.” The same picture emerges at the meeting with all the teachers and with Nicholas, the principal of the Secondary School. Student performance this year is poor, helplessness is spreading among the teaching staff, and there are few solutions to be heard or seen. During the subsequent tour of the classrooms, numerous school desks, chairs, and broken window panes in need of repair are also noticeable. One can only wonder why neither the school administration nor the teaching team feels responsible for this.
I notice how I repeatedly try to approach some topics with German naivety. Reality, however, shows that our logic cannot be simply transferred to the Kenyan mentality. The furrowed brow hasn’t even disappeared when small stories happen, like the baker at the school changing more or less overnight. The permanently employed baker quits from one day to the next for a better-paying job, Michael goes looking, and lo and behold: 12 hours later, the new baker is already pulling delicious donuts from the oven. We could learn a thing or two from Kenyan pragmatism.
Despite all criticism: The Secondary School is on the right track. With its own agriculture, a spacious bakery, and subjects like home economics and sewing, it offers an expanded, special school program. In addition, there is a diverse computer offering. So, everything is there to prepare students for adult life. A unique concept that needs time to mature. We participate in a Children Safety & Health Care Day with staff from the schools and the MCC, and the team’s openness to make a difference is evident there. I watch in amazement as communication happens bilingually throughout the day, often switching from English to Swahili and back in the middle of a sentence.
Time on the MCC grounds passes so quickly that you lose track of time and space and don’t miss life outside of home and school. Every now and then, you do get out. The excursion with Jimmy takes Barbara and me over the mountains with terraces of red earth and a view into the vastness of the country to Machakos. And we stroll through the market of Tala with its many vegetable stalls and colorful baskets. Even the ride in a Matatu, the Kenyan shared taxi, is an experience.
Social worker Linnet enables me to visit the Mathare slum on the outskirts of Nairobi. Some of our MCC children come from there; many are given the opportunity to attend school through the Maisha Mazuri Project. A real chance for these children and young people. People try to live with dignity, which is truly not an easy task under the given circumstances. It is heartbreaking to see the joy that two kilos of flour and some sugar can bring to individual families. Behind every corrugated iron shack lies a unique family story.
Back to Nguluni: 15 minutes from the MCC, we visit Grandma Rosemarie in her leaky little house, where she cares for six grandchildren. Her biological children are unable to contribute to the family’s upkeep. Eight of them live in cramped conditions, and with Shirleen, the sixth child is now enrolled in Primary School, with the seventh already on the waiting list. In Rosemarie’s hut, it becomes palpable how far-reaching and fundamental the Maisha Mazuri Project’s fruits are. It not only gives individual children a chance in life, but it also supports entire families and immensely changes the entire infrastructure of the region for the better. Many businesses, craftsmen, and casual workers have been involved in the MMP for years, more money circulates, people in the area use it for new businesses, and ultimately, many, many Kenyan families are better off.
I have long, fascinating conversations; for example, with Michael, now a leader at the MCC, who tells me about his own childhood in poverty and how he was able to free himself from it with great willpower, or with the teacher, Madame Anita, whose mother is only 14 years older than her and who had to earn her tuition by selling donuts. I stand on the dusty soccer field between the Secondary School and the MCC and cannot imagine that this piece of land lay fallow ten years ago.
A huge compliment to all the volunteers of Hand in Hand für Kenia. In addition to financial commitment, you have created a magical place there with energy, strength, and certainly a lot of heart. The Kenyan team does its best to support the children in their development. With the Maisha Mazuri Children’s Center, the Primary and Secondary School, agriculture, and the Skills Center, where some can pursue vocational training directly after school, something great has already been created.
I thought I could help out – plant carrots, paint walls white, tutor, or whatever. In the end, I felt like a “Consultant Assistant” by Barbara’s side, who was continuously richly blessed for ten days.
Both the little ones in the children’s home and the students of the secondary school, who were in the middle of their final exams, enchant you with their aura. Almost all of them always have a smile on their faces, appear upright, strong, confident, and above all, humble and grateful. It is this gratitude that truly makes me look up to these young personalities. Whether we jog along the dusty road towards the Primary School, attend Sunday service together, wash dishes with cold water, or do laundry: The atmosphere is full of hope and confidence. Even during the daily, fiercely contested soccer game, you experience pure harmony – and indeed, gratitude.
You don’t even notice when the team and children coordinate; everything always runs smoothly with complete serenity. Bedtime is promptly at 9:00 PM, without much fuss. You have to leave the “mile-long boots” in Europe and help the local people, step by step, to further develop their still dormant potential. The mentalities will remain different, but together we can make this great project grow. The wonderful children show us how it’s done.