Once in a long while, something happens in your life that makes you wish you were able make time stand still so that you could bask in the glory of the moment. Last Saturday was that day for Sinai slum children.
The kids had a taste of a different world.

And “it was great!” as one of them told me before I left the venue. As soon as they trooped into Internationals School of Kenya (ISK) compound, they were received with joy and smiles from exuberant students eager to show them around and play with them. This kind of attention from strangers is often in short supply back home, whenever stranger talks to them it’s normally either to shoo them off because of the stereotype assumptions about street children or abuse them. But at ISK, they were in good hands, at least for a moment.

“It’s refreshing for me when they feel loved and appreciated,” says Ndorina Wanjiku one of the ISK student. 

ISK is a wonderful  International School that hosts affluent international and local national students.Mostly, the crème de la crème can afford to take their children there. These are kids of foreign diplomats, top executives of major multi nationals, senior government officials and wealthy businessmen. 

Sinai slum is not at all similar to the grounds at ISK. In Sinai,  the slum is densley populated dotted with tin and cardboard houses, that are as small as 4x4 square meters. It is not strange that a family of six children and single mother live in a room as small at that. Worse still, the environment the children live in and play in is appalling. Broken sewers and skewed garbage are what they face daily.

“It’s a different experience for them and it’s a different one for our students,” says Scilla Davey, the ISK Community Development Co-ordinator. “Its important for ISK students to interact with this children, so that they can understand how privileged they really are,” Mrs. Davey added.

The fun day was organized by CMA and sponsored by the International School of Kenya. 130 slum kids and fifteen students from ISK attended. The students were divided into five groups. Each group took a small number of children and played football, basketball, volley ball and other fun games they have never played. There was swimming too, which went pretty well with the children.

These children were so excited at the sight of a pool. Immediately we got to the pool they had to be restrained, as they were eager to dive into the water. Once in the pool, they wrestled each other, danced and laughed without a worry or a care in the world. The younger kids could not even wait for their faces to be colored before invading the bouncy castle. It was a thrilling sight to see the children so happy, and so relaxed.

After the games, the children were treated to a sumptuous meal and loads of drinks. Then came the cold but yummy ice-cream that they licked to the last drop. It was all capped up with two clowns. Kids could not hold themselves as they laughed until they could laugh no more. It was a moving sight to see their tears flow freely. Tears of joy!

 “I am glad that ISK has such a program where we bring a little humor, light-heartedness and make a difference in the lives of children living in difficult circumstances…honestly I feel honored to be part of this program,” Said Izra.

For these children, the event is a miracle. Many of them have never even seen a bouncy castle let a lone a swimming pool. Their parents are on and off sort labor class, vegetable and fruit cart vendors, or domestic servants, and some do not have jobs at all.  

 “I realize how blessed I am ...to me this is an opportunity to serve God’s children and share what I have with them,” Says Mai Korsgaard. “You know they aren’t different from us. We just live in different kind of places because some of us are more privileged than others...and that can always change,” She added.
Mai is right. This event is to enhance interaction among kids from seemingly two different worlds with the hope that at least a few of them (slum children especially) would have their imagination sparked and break away from the indigence into which they are born hence preparing them for the outer world.