KCP heads to the Giraffe Center...

Today was the first field trip for the children. We arranged for a trip to the Giraffe Center. The Kenya Wildlife Service has set up a place where you can go and feed giraffes. The main focus of the Giraffe Center is for school children to come and learn about wildlife. They don't charge the schools entrance fees. It is a very neat program.

Today was amazing though. Not only did the children get to come to the Giraffe Center, for many of them, today was their first time outside of Mathare. The Giraffe Center is located in Karen, a very wealthy, spacious and green Nairobi suburb. The ride there was simply a new experience. We rented a bus and loaded all of the children, teachers and KCP staff onto the bus and headed to Karen.

Upon arrival the children had an opportunity to learn about giraffes. We had one of the staff from Giraffe Center talk to the children. They were then able to feed the giraffes. They were a bit hesitant at first, but once they realized it was safe they had a ball. A few of the younger children cried a bit, because they were scared of such a huge animal.

Following the feeding, the children had an opportunity to see a tortoise, and then had their faces painted. We provided a sack lunch for them as well, which they thoroughly enjoyed. The bottled water seemed to be a big hit!

Another first for many of the children occurred today as well. After lunch we went to a small auditorium where John, our Giraffe Center host, put the Lion King video on. Many of the kids had never seen a video before, and they were totally focused. Their eyes were glued to the TV for a good 45 minutes, which for these kids is a long, long time. After that, we got on the bus and headed back to what seems like another world - Mathare.

What a blessing it was to see the wonder in the children's eyes. The smiles and laughter, and the sheer thrill of the whole experience were amazing to witness. Another blessing God has provided through these children of Jangwani.