After a long preparation phase in Germany, the time in the MCC began for the three of us in November. The arrival was equally warm and we were immediately accepted into the MCC family. The kitchen, the goat barn, the rabbit hutches and Emma’s vegetable garden were shown and explained to us on the day of arrival by the small children, who were not as shy as the older kids. The first days flew by! We played many games with the children, got to know their daily routine and exhausted ourselves athletically.
We distributed the many printed photos of the previous volunteers as well as the utensils we brought with us together with Mercy! That was a great joy for everyone! The children proudly showed us their photo treasures.
The children have holidays from the end of October to the beginning of January, which means that everyday life here in the home is organized by a timetable that put together with Mercy & Joseph and shared our ideas, so that the children have a variety of playing, learning and daily work. The children are also divided into age-appropriate groups and receive their assignments accordingly from 08:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. The younger ones collect the garbage that is lying on the ground outside and help Emma clean out the goat and rabbit hutches. The older ones go to the Shamba with Boniface or support Julius in the kitchen. Since the children’s concentration is best in the morning, they read from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or they do their holiday schoolwork with the help of the tutor and the three of us. After the lunch break, it’s our turn to deal with different topics every day: Monday – painting or handicrafts; Tuesday – competition day; Wednesday – jogging and/or taekwondo with Matron Miriam; Thursday – Workshop on various current topics here in the home; Friday – our day off, so also a free afternoon for the children.
On Monday, Daya led a painting workshop. With simple shapes and lines, the children tried hand at portrait painting. They sat opposite each other in pairs and drew each other. The children who had a hard time were helped by the others, so that in the end everyone had their own portrait in their hands.
Tuesday is competition day! For the competition, it is always the turn of a different group of children each week, the remaining kids cheer on and/or support us in counting or setting up. The groups are randomly divided into teams of 2, so that not one child stands in comparison with the others, but the team spirit is strengthened. We adapt the individual challenges to the respective age group – the smaller ones get easier tasks such as jumping rope or Hoola Hoop swinging, the older ones get more difficult ones, such as crossing the slackline or who can do the most pull-ups. At the end, a winning team is always rewarded with a cool medal. All children who took part also receive a small candy, which they are very happy about.
The Taekwondo lesson on Wednesday with Matron Miriam was very interesting and at the same time exhausting for us and the children. Through Taekwondo, children learn to defend themselves, discipline and it strengthens cohesion.
Our first workshop on Thursday was about safety in everyday life and when playing, mutual consideration and first aid. We set up a kind of row seating for the children in the common room so that everyone could see the short explanatory videos and us and we could keep an eye on everyone in return. After the videos, we summarized them together again and asked various questions about them. Everyone was very attentive and participated well.
On Friday, our day off, we went to Tala, the next bigger town. While shopping there, we noticed shockingly that the prices in Kenya hardly differ from ours in Germany. A 500g piece of cheese, for example, costs around 8 euros – so it is one of the luxury goods that only the richer can afford. The larger part of the population, the poor, would stand in front of the full supermarket shelves and cannot buy anything, as most of them only earn around 150 euros a MONTH.
After three weeks we went on a few home visits for the first time with the social worker Mercy, so that we could learn to understand the circumstances from which our MCC children come from. It was shocking for us to see how poor the conditions are there. At the same time, it has opened our eyes to how well our children in care are doing: 3-4 meals a day, running water and, above all, plenty of time to play. Most of the “community” children, i.e. those who are financially supported by our association (especially school supplies, school clothes, etc.), but who live at home, only get a meal once a day and now have to help their parents or grandparents on the farm during the holidays. On the way we saw some of the children in the fields. There is no age limit, every child has to help. At their home we were always warmly welcomed by the (grand) parents and they were all very happy about our visit and showed us their home.
During our stay in the home, several things were repaired. Since, for example, the rabbit hutches were already quite run-down after many years of use, new ones were now being built. With the help of some of the older children, new wooden stables were created, in which there is room for several rabbits again and the newborns also feel comfortable.
One of the children’s wishes was that we cook spaghetti with them. So Yannick and Julius went shopping: 20x 400g pasta, 2 garlic bulbs, 2.5 kg tomatoes and 0.5 kg onions. It takes all this to cook for 39 children + 4 adults! Luckily, Julius reminded us that the water takes 1.5 hours to warm up. So we stoked the wood-fired oven and started chopping the vegetables with the children in the meantime. Since it was so difficult for us to estimate the temperatures at the oven, the big girls helped us cook. The Maggi Bolognese packets we brought with us were great, as they gave the sauce a lot of flavor in no time at all. We then cooked the noodles in portions, hoping that they wouldn’t stick together. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out! The children didn’t care – the main thing was pasta! We also really enjoyed the noodles with tomato sauce, as it is a welcome change from the Kenyan dishes.
After a few weeks, the three of us went on safari to the Masai Mara for a total of three days. Since we were so impressed and can’t really put into words what we experienced, here is a short text that we think fits it very well:
“Immersing 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 this have the opportunity to reset your mind and steer it in the right direction!” (Tafanistravelers @Instagram)
All children kept on telling us with shining eyes about their visit to the swimming pool with the previous volunteers, and so we were persuaded to plan a swimming day for the center and community kids. First of all, however, we had to raise around 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. Only at the second call about Quinoah, Barbara’s brother, who has a greater reach, did we reach the sum. Many thanks to all donors! The anticipation of everyone was great. Since there were 83 children, we divided them into two groups. In our last week in the home, we first went swimming with the first group of children on Friday and then with the second group on Saturday. While the younger children were driven to Savannah Lodge by school bus, we walked 4 kilometers together with the older ones. When we arrived at the swimming pool after our march, the little ones were already waiting very excitedly in front of the pool and not a minute could be wasted! So we changed quickly and then let everyone into the water at the same time – a huge water fight began! At first we were a bit worried about the little ones who can’t swim, but they only stayed in the children’s pool voluntarily. The kids had a lot of fun with the water polo they had brought with them and, among other things, competed to see who was the first to get to the ball. After they had let off steam in the water for several hours and then all sat shivering in the warm sun, there was lunch with fries, chicken and vegetables. Afterwards, they were allowed to go into the water for another hour before all the children took the school bus back to the MCC at the end of the day. Exhausted, but very satisfied, the children and we fell into our beds – an exciting, successful day!
ASANTE SANA – thank you again for every donation that made it possible for the children to experience such a special day during their holidays!
Wow, 2 months go by so fast! Our time here at the MCC was short, but we were able to experience so much with them due to the children’s long holidays and had a very intensive, exciting, funny and also exhausting insight into everyday life during the so-called “free” time! The staff at MCC do an incredible job as they raise 39 children aged 5-17 and accompany them on their journey through life. We wish the kids all the very best for this and hope that they will take advantage of the opportunity they get through the program.
We hope they all stay as relaxed as we have heard, because one sentence that we will certainly remember is 100% true:
“Germans have a clock, Kenyans have time!”
Everything we have been able to experience in the last few months, we will not forget under any circumstances! We will especially remember the laughter of the children and the shining eyes.
Barbara Hansen, Yannick Smolik und Daya Schwarz
