Runda Feeding

Today I did the Runda feeding program in interact club. This went on from 10:30 - 12:30.
We all met up at Java house and then used three or four cars to take us to the site. We started out by unpacking various foods and stacking them up so that we would be ready to hand them out when the time came.

We pile up the bread!

We piled up plates with a little bit of each food and went and gave them out to some elderly men in a small bungalow nearby. As we handed them the food they smiled and thanked us over and over. It felt great to be helping, even if we were only doing a little.

Plates of food for the elderly men

The food consisted of mandazis, mangoes, sweets, bread, muffins, milk, bananas, juices, and much more. I was amazed at how much food we had!
It was really sweet to see some men preparing bread and milk for the dogs, and feeding the cows.

After we had finished we were assigned to hand out different foods - a friend and myself were in charge of the milk. There was soon a huge line of children waiting to collect their food, I was dumbstruck at just how many there were! They each collected plastic bags (some that the bread had previously been packaged in) and then went around to get a little of each item. Some children carried babies on their backs.

The line of children waiting for food

We gave one packet of milk to each child, and they flashed us grateful smiles.
After a while it began to get very crowded, and I frantically dropped milk in as many bags as I could! But there were so many people that after a while our three huge crates of milk ran out, and I was dismayed to see mothers carrying their babies not get any.

I help hand out milk

At the end we stood in a circle and reflected on our work, saying prayers and listening to the people talk about their organisation.

I really enjoyed this activity. It made me realise just how little they have, and how fortunate we are. I loved touching these children's lives, seeing their bright eyes and wide smiles was amazing. I feel like I learnt a lot more about the level of poverty in Kenya, and was inspired by the sense of community during the feeding.

Two little kids in line

I think that this is what interact club is all about, connecting with people that seem to be in a world so far away and different from your own, and making a difference (for them, and for yourself).
I can't wait until my next interact community service event!

Making a difference