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Making Friends at the Child Discovery Center

By Gianna Davis

The Child Discovery Centre (CDC) serves the informal communities of Nakuru, Kenya by granting approximately 50 children each year the opportunity of an education, a shelter, and most importantly, a home away from home. It is the twin school of Christian Brothers Academy, which we visited before leaving Syracuse.

After visiting the CDC yesterday and today, and through collaborating with Brother Oscar, the students, and the La Salle community now and these past few months, I have truly seen the transcending impact that humans can have on one another.

My new friend Merry, 15-years-old and the only girl in the tenth-grade class, loves to dance and sing, loves kittens and warm weather, and also agrees that pink is the prettiest color. Merry gave me a tour me the CDC; I sat in her favorite seat in her classroom, I saw the soccer poster hanging over her bunk bed, and she introduced me to the rabbits near their farm.

My other new friend Joy and I laughed over hand games and clapping and kicking rocks.

The people at the CDC want the best for each other. They shared their stories with us, and they shared their home with us. They showed us how to embrace one another, from before we even departed for Kenya to the hugs we exchanged as we left after dark.

Brother Oscar changes lives at both the Child Discovery Centre and Mwangaza College.

Mwangaza College is a secondary institution that provides college degrees to students in Nakuru looking to pursue careers in business, hospitality, fashion and design and beauty. During our visit to Mwangaza College, we had an authentic Kenyan lunch prepared and presented by the hospitality students. We started with ginger and carrot soup, tasted our fried fish, vegetable medley, and roasted potatoes as our entree, and finished off the lunch with a pineapple cake. After lunch, we joined the business class to meet the other students and enjoy a class session. We discussed the differences in business and culture between Kenya and the United States. During this, we learned that we all shared an interest in volleyball, so what happened when class ended? A volleyball game! The guys played volleyball while us girls went to the beauty department. The beauty students styled our hair and we became new friends.

I am grateful for how we bonded with the students at both CDC and Mwanzaga.

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