If somebody had asked me in the beginning of the year where I thought we would be right now or how this situation would be never in my wildest imagination would I have predicted things to be the way they are right now. 2020 has been responsible for a lot of memories and lessons, the greatest of these lessons has been the power of love.
Since mid March following the confirmation of Corona Virus in Kenya, the government decided to take measures to minimize the spread of the Virus. Key amongst these measures was the closure of schools. This step especially hit us hard because it meant that the over 300 children at Korando Education Center would be forced to go back home. To most of these children Korando not only acts a place to come and learn; it also enables most of them obtain nutritious meals they would not have gotten because they come from very vulnerable backgrounds.
Keeping all that in mind Better Me run an online campaign to raise funds to buy food and soap for 30 of the most vulnerable households. After the success of this first campaign we set out to visit the 30 families with food and a mission to sensitize them on how to contain the spread of Corona Virus by washing hands and maintaining social distancing.
The first part was the most important for us we had to plan the best routes to follow because some of the areas where our children come from are not easily accessible by road; we also had to acquire face masks and gloves to protect the children and ourselves from exposure to Covid-19.
When we got near the first home we could see some of the children running towards the van all smiles and happy to see us, it was a joyous reunion considering that a couple of weeks back the schools had been closed without warning. The trend continued everywhere we went, children running towards the familiar sight of the Van(full of Love hearts), That was when we realized that we brought to the children more than food and soap, the hope and joy that was expressed was so pure. One of the caregivers to the children shared how glad she was that some of the Teachers and Mama now knew where she lived and that she felt even more connected to the center!
In one of the homes we met this amazing grandmother and 6 of the children she was taking care off. When we got to their house she was seated outside quietly with the children around her. They greeted us with warm smiles and immediately we handed over the food to them, the grandmother with tears in her eyes admitted that they had run out of food the previous day and she was unsure where their next meal would come from. We were in awe, personally I desperately tried not to shed a tear in the presence of the children☺ , at that moment I felt the importance of the work that we.
The team that ensured we completed the activity successfully on the ground included myself(Tom), Samambo, Pamela, The head teacher, Dennis, Ben, Dan and Mama Dolfine. Mama was our team leader throughout the distribution, even throwing jibes and jokes around ever so often, bringing joyful smiles and a message of hope to the children and families, and to ourselves.
This entire Household UPliftment Program was made possible by the contributions from various individuals around the world and 30 families now have enough food for an entire month. We still have many more households to go and we need your support to ensure that these wonderful children do not go hungry. Join us on this path of love today, 30€ feeds one family for a month.
Feel Loved and stay safe
Thomas Ogalo