„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 employees and especially by the kids.
As it was still holidays at the beginning of the month, the hustle and bustle started right away; There was playing, dancing, singing, baking, painting or even handicrafts, but that’s probably the fastest way we could learn the names of all kids and got to know great, new, little personalities.
In order to make the holiday program as special as possible for everyone, we went on a trip with all MCC kids to the nearby Savannah Lodge. There, everyone was able to let off some steam on the playground with a merry-go-round and bouncy castle before finally going to the long-awaited lunch: chicken with fries and Fanta! After a short digestive break, however, it didn’t keep anyone in their chair for long and all kids ran to the water and jumped enthusiastically into the pool. One or the other got a small swimming course and in general there was a lot of playing, splashing and screaming. At the end of the day, both the kids and all the adults went home with a big grin.
During the week, we volunteers were shown around the MCC, we got a good impression of the life here, helped to water a wide variety of plants, sow new ones or harvest some on the Shamba. We were also able to support the social workers Mercy and Joseph and were also able to get a first impression of the secondary school.
Since our chef was on vacation, Nancy and the kids showed us what to do in the kitchen, how to prepare the dishes, how to make chapati and how many dirty plates there are to wash every day, but also how nice it can be to help each other in the kitchen. We cooked a huge portion of spaghetti with tomato sauce and everyone helped to chop.
In the meantime, our first weeks at the MCC are over, tomorrow school starts again for all MCC kids and we will get to know a new everyday life here. For the last day of the holiday we walked to the hyena caves in the morning and were able to crawl together through some dark, narrow caves.
The first weeks at the MCC were very interesting and exciting for all of us, we met a lot of new people, made new friends, tried new food, explored new places, learned how much you can stand out as a ‘white person’ in Kenya and, above all, got a new home at the MCC.
Asante Sana – thank you so much!
Jonas, Sophia und Lena
