A Saturday Well Spent

Last Saturday, I spent my day at the Kariobangi Outreach Children’s Home. Our Life Group (Bible Study Group) Leader, Pablo Delvaux had made it known to us back in February that he was planning to visit the home. He had the desire to sponsor the school fees for some of the children. More than this, he felt the need to actively pour love on them by cooking for them and selecting one or two children that he could actively mentor regularly going forward. He shared with us this desire, a desire that Susan and I quickly agreed to be part of.

Kariobangi Outreach Children’s Home was begun in the year 1997 by Outreach Community Centre (OCC) with a mandate to care for and protect Orphans & Vulnerable Children. The home is located in Gitathuru area of Kariobangi North, Nairobi. It houses both boys and girls from aged 4 to 18 years and currently houses 20 Children. The home also has a school and a church that is open to the community. The school currently has 241 Students, 22 are in Standard Eight and were in class, when we arrived on the day, preparing for their KCPE which is scheduled to start on the 22^nd of March 2021. I should also mention that the Outreach Community Centre (OCC) was founded by Bishop Daniel and Magdalene Ogutu. The two of them are part of our Life Group.

On our last LG before the big day, we met to discuss the plans for the day. Pablo shared with us the menu for the day, like Gordon Ramsay, himself:

MENU
Starches
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Chapati and Rice
 
Protein
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Grilled Chicken
 
Vegetable
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Ratatouille   

Rata what, “Magdalene mused?” Pablo went on to explain how Ratatouille is a stewed vegetable dish whose ingredients include tomato, garlic, onion, courgette, aubergine, capsicum, e.t.c. Magdalene was not reconciling how her children in Kariobangi were going to eat “Ratatat”. “Why can’t we just cook Cabbage?”, she asked. Susan also expressed her concern. Pablo was adamant but finally conceded to Magdalene’s idea of buying some cabbage on the side just in case all goes south. I was more concerned with how we were going to cook for 50+ people. I knew Pablo was a good cook, but I questioned whether he had cooked for more than 10 people let alone 50. We agreed that the chapati, Rice and Cabbage would be prepared by the home and we would handle the Grilled Chicken and the Ratatouille. 

Being a German, Pablo called on Friday to remind me to keep time. I was to be at his house at 9 am so that we can be at the home by 10 am. This would give us enough time to ensure the children were eating by 1 pm. We eventually arrived at 10:40 am because Google Maps could not reconcile the Pin that was shared with us. We found ourselves at Chandarana which was behind the home when we were supposed to be nearer National Concrete. We were welcomed by Rodgers and his wife, the Managers of the home. Rodgers took us around the school. He showed us the girls dorm room, which had burnt down in 2019. It was now fully refurbished. He then showed us the boys dorm room, half of which had been demolished during the implementation of the Sewerage Improvement Project/Rehabilitation of Kariobangi Wastewater Treatment Plant by the government. The home was to be compensated for the loss but apparently, only a fraction of the total lost was refunded. We were taken to see the classes, where the standard Eights were in class revising for the upcoming KCPE Exams. Rodgers then showed us the Church hall, which will from the 22^nd double up as the Examination hall, before directing us to our cooking station. We found a number of the children and staff hard at work preparing the Chapatis.

Our team led by Pablo got into action. Pablo took charge, apportioning work to everyone including several of the children. Meanwhile, everyone was looking at the preparation process of the Ratatouille with scepticism. It is at this time that Magdalene came in with the Cabbages to supposedly save the day. We then started grilling the chicken and suddenly hope started creeping in and you could now see expectant looks all around. At 2:30 pm we started serving. Everyone got a full plate. The food was fantastic, Madalene even went for a second serving of the Ratatouille. The grilled chicken was also well marinated and grilled to perfection. It was truly a great experience where we mingled with the children as we ate a fantastic meal that everyone present contributed, in some way, to prepare. After the meal, we went to the church hall where class 8’s sung 3 uplifting songs. Tributes were given, and words of encouragement directed to the candidates. We gave thanks to God for a Saturday well spent where we had a chance to leave out Mathew 25:40. What was evident was that the biggest need for those kids is LOVE. On the day, more than anything we managed to embody christ’s Love and it is my prayer that I will be able to keep it up.