|By Nicole Muthoni|
After what felt like a century, I had a chance to take part in an outreach activity organised by the Community Outreach Programme (COP) that turned out to be exactly what I needed! On this rather cold Saturday morning, my friends and I came together to make hearts smile at Limuru Cheshire Home. This is a Centre that takes care of 60 girls living with varying forms and degrees of mental and intellectual impairments. Taking part in activities organized by COP gives me so much joy and gratitude. Having taken part in a few others previously, I always looked forward to the next activity. Besides the joy and sense of gratitude they bring, they help me to make a contribution to make my society better.For this specific one, I saw no better way to spend my Saturday.
We got to the home a few minutes after 10a.m and settled in as we waited for the girls to join us. Before long, they joined us. And immediately, the mood changed. The room was filled with so much life! Some even stood to wave and say hi to us as they proceeded to take their seats; I couldn’t help but smile and wave back at them. I was even happier to see some familiar faces since I made a few friends during my last visit to the Centre. A little singing and dancing lightens the soul, and that is exactly what we did for a few minutes before we got busy with the day’s tasks.
The chores at hand included splitting firewood, doing some laundry , preparing a meal for the girls among other things. This time around I thought to myself, “Why not go plait the girls’ hair?”. I knew for a fact that I was not a pro but that would not deter me from giving it a shot. We were led to a room that would serve as the salon for the day. Amid the buzzing sounds from the hair blow dryer, hearty conversations ensued among the COP volunteers and the Cheshire girls and we got to learn so much about these girls. It turns out that one of the girls hails from Nakuru, just like me! That made me so happy. I felt at home. We talked about Nakuru and shared some ‘inside jokes’ and stories with her.
The afternoon provided some much needed entertainment. We engaged in a fun game of football and while I stayed on the sidelines, I could not help but enjoy watching the game unfold. From seeing amateurs receiving some on the job training on how to effectively kick a ball to witnessing the struggle to make a score throughout the game, I was surely amused. Seated next to me was one of the Cheshire girls, a cheerful and bubbly soul, whose laughter was contagious. Together, we laughed as we followed the football match keenly. Learning from this girl, I recall wanting to learn how to laugh my problems away.Right there and then, I resolved to laugh a little more each day because it makes a difference. The memories of this day remain etched in my spirit. That was a day well spent. I enjoyed everymoment of this day. To many more activities like this one!
By Nicole Muthoni, a 2nd year Bachelor of Commerce student.
