Celebrating 10 Years

KCC Programme is marking their 10th Anniversary! The impact this charity has made in the lives of children, young people and their families is truly remarkable. This charity means a lot to me so any support you are able to give would be amazing. Below is my story about how all of this got started.

Marcus

THIS IS MY STORY:

Back in September 2009, I decided to travel to Kenya to volunteer on a childcare placement through the volunteer organisation IVHQ. Quite soon after arriving however, my volunteer placement evolved into something more than I ever thought was possible. Within the first few weeks, the volunteers I was on placement with were invited to visit a community who lived in a slum on the outskirts of Naivasha. From there,we began having a conversation with our host family around a genuine opportunity that we had identified. Through consultation with the community members and leaders, then together we soon began the process of designing a new children’s project. The aim was to tackle some of the biggest challenges children were facing in a rural informal settlement located alongside a railway line. Essentially, these issues were around the barriers of accessing mainstream education, malnutrition and lack of access to quality health services – which at their core were rooted in a cycle of generational poverty. I will never forget our first project day. After meetings with parents, families and leaders, 100 children aged 3-14 years were identified – children who hadn’t begun their schooling or were just acutely malnourished. On an open field, 10 minutes’ walk from their shacks, mothers showed up to help us make a fire to cook a hot meal. A registration of names was attempted. We tried to source enough water. We played games and activities, chaotically translated from English to Swahili. What I remember most vividly, however, is that it turns out that when you offer a free meal it’s usually too good a deal to pass up. In our planning we had budgeted for 100 children but by the time food was cooked, 200 children had arrived. Lining them into an orderly line, we served them twice but then on the third serving they were pushing and shoving against the line so hard that we stepped aside from the huge 100 litre pot and watched as they rushed forward to start scooping food up with their hands. The weeks, months and years that followed were a series of learning, challenges and growing as we set KCC Programme up as a fully functioning organisation. Coming up against every single challenge imaginable, the charity has continued to go from strength to strength. I will never forget that first day. As I was walking away in disbelief at what I had seen I remember thinking there was no way that the need was made up. This is why we kept at it. Now, ten years later, there are all these children who have greater chances of making better futures.