Cleaning utensils after feeding the children.
By Thaddeus Bah Masika, president of the Rotaract Club of Nairobi Parklands, Kenya
In November, we visited children at Mother Teresa’s Home of Mercy, run by the Missionaries of Charity. For just a one day visit, it had a profound effect on our club and members, some of whom were moved to tears.
After meeting at 8 a.m. we traveled by public transportation to Huruma, a slum on the northeast edge of Nairobi, and walked the few meters to the home. We had three main goals in mind: clean the place, feed the children, and play with the children.
It is not easy to engage the children, since some of them have mental issues. But our team was determined to win smiles on their young faces. And in fact one of our members, Timothy, made such friends with one of the children that it was later difficult to part the two. Other members got emotional and had to find a place to re-compose themselves before continuing.
The home has a unique and effective system that has helped them keep time and ensure that no child is skipped or forgotten. The cleaning, feeding, and playtime is synchronized perfectly.
We learned that apart from the children inside the walls of the home, the sisters also go deep into the community to assist others. As we left, we were challenged by the thought that this was just one day of service at the home. What must it be like for the people who wake up every morning to tackle the same job?
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Just to clarify, most of the children in the home of the sisters are not orphans, but throw away children (children who have been abandoned – at times in garbage dumps or latrines). There is an old saying that there are no orphans in Africa. Children belong to the extended family, the clan, not just the nuclear family. Often it is the police who bring the children to them. I am a priest with the Missionaries of Charity Sisters and lived at the other end of the Mathare slums and celebrated Mass twice a week in the sisters home in Huruma.
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Thanks for the correction. We will adjust that in the blog post!
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This is addressed to Father. Are you still there in Nairobi. A small group of us will be returning this year, God willing, to the orphanage for the day. Because of the recent bombings that have taken place in Nairobi recently we are hoping we can get drivers to take us out there to Huruma. If not, is there any chance the Mother Superior can come to our lodging in town for our gifts? Thank you for your information as this is my third time making a visit prior to taking my clients on safari to the Mara.
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Thank you for sharing this article quite interesting and, hopefully true happiness rays began to warm our hearts, when we can share it with sincerity. Greetings from Gede Prama 🙂
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