Hope I changed a life

I had to write about the best moment of 2014. It came at a time when things had hit a snag. It was a time when I was on the verge of quitting altogether. I was stuck. Stuck in a rut. I don’t know why this phrase has stuck in my ken like a cliché. It keeps on ringing in my head even when I am not supposed to use it. However it has made me who I am. I look forward each day and say, “The far I have reached and that which I have achieved. What I am yet to accomplish is much more. Much much more.”

Sometimes I usually think I am running out of time. Then again I remember reading somewhere that even the best philosophers, academicians, masons, shoe shiners and a host of other personalities who made an impact are somewhere cold in the grave. They had their time alright. It’s my time, I have to shine bright like a diamond and also be as hard as the carbon allotrope. I will one time buy a Smartphone made of diamond screen. 

So Mogra Rescue Centre was the best place I went and had the best moment of my life. Mogra is somewhere along Kiambu road. It is located next to Rock City, in a cool vicinity that oozes affluence and calm with pristine vegetation and climate (Opposite Karura Forest). The mansions and bungalows in site speak for themselves. I had to pinch myself twice in order to reaffirm to myself that I was not in another location. But all in all, Mogra has that welcoming aura that humbles. It is a place you won’t fail to fall in love with. It has allure. I am indebted for the one on one experience that I had in the place. 

I went to Mogra courtesy of KEPSA. Hitherto, I had no idea that a centre like that existed. We found one Mose who we got acquainted to after introducing ourselves. Mogra I was told by Mose (Slang for Moses), has impacted positively in his life. He told me he had just sat his exams and aspired to be a pilot. Mose was studying in a school in Mathare run by the owner of Mogra for the underprivileged children in society. If he ever told me the name, I am remorseful for having forgotten it. Mose was a child in this rescue centre. In order to verify that he had finished class eight, I asked him whether he knew Zinjathropus. I had completely forgotten the syllabus covered at the apex of primary education. So he replied, “Mi sijui hio, lakini najua Kenyapithecus.” I bet we became friends. However he was called to go for lunch before we could talk in-depth like real men. Of course I wanted to know more about him; his fears, struggles, after primary and all that. 

Mose told me Mogra was derived from their caretaker mother’s two children, Moses and Grace- Mo from Moses and Gra from Grace. He spoke highly of the owner. She was however like any other mother, very strict though lenient when it comes to dealing with children. In fact she had mastered the art of cosseting the children in her own way. Mogra had provided him a home where he was satisfied. In him I saw hope, hope that success is just nigh. He spoke highly of KCPE exams. My friend Job who is a trained aeronautical engineer challenged Mose whether he wanted to be a pilot or a copilot of which he said he wanted to be a copilot. We laughed since he was kind of green on matters to do with the aviation industry. But as a person well versed with the Aviation Industry, Job was able to aptly advice him though not thoroughly.

Mogra Rescue Center is a gem. God bless the incubators of the idea who saw to it that it became a reality. With more than 150 children, this is indeed a home away from home. Here children nurture their talents, they engage in all kind of play that molds them into good citizens. Their discipline is at par and they are the most wonderful and social children I interacted with this year. Their faces were full of smiles. One Emmanuel had bought them balloons with whistles and the children did blow the whistles causing the whole place to have music like rhythm full of pandemonium.  When one corner was not in frenzy, the other was and I really admired the ripple effect of how sounds were being produced. 

Mogra is well sustained. It has a farm that supplies enough. The farm was one of the place those who had volunteered went to. The greenhouse was very hot though. There is also a stream passing in the middle of the farm. The owner of Mogra should be a genius. 

However, the fact that Mogra nurtures does not mean it does not have challenges. 'Waafrika sisi ni nywele ngumu kweli.' While most people had brought donations, it was still not enough. A volunteer doctor who was standing in for the director lamented how most of the people who had kept the institution going were from the West. I remember seeing a table donated by a couple from the USA. Either way, faults aside, we impacted positively on the lives of most of the children.

I realized one thing about this rescue center. Children have many toys and they are also well housed in very a conducive environment. They have a way of nurturing talent and that means more children can be able to discover what they are good at at an early age. The caregivers are also friendly and very welcoming. I salute them for the warm welcome and reception they gave us. Their voluntary work is priceless. They do it deep from the bottom of their hearts. They have given the children the requisite motherly love so that they feel they are part of the larger world that awaits them in future.

A remarkable place in the rescue center was the room reserved for infants. It did catch my eye. It had the requisite aura for tots. It was clean and magnificent and splendid. Children are the future generation. Looking at the small angels, one wonders what went wrong. But our society has become too idiosyncratic.  When men and women of intellect abandon their children, there should be worry. It means we are sinking deep into an abyss that we cannot untangle ourselves from. But modernity has many challenges. They keep on arising each day. The more things change, the more they remain the same. 

When you go to the room housing the infants, you can be overwhelmed with tears as I saw some ladies were. You carry some of the infants and when some of them don’t want to leave the new comfort of your hands, you get that feeling of ‘I feel you tot.’

We did mingle with the kids. They were fantastic, upbeat and lively. Those in nursery were easily sociable. For those in secondary, you have to know their comfort zone in order to have them talk. I really loved the children. There were some who loved our company so much you felt empathetic leaving them. A wonderful Christmas gift this was. It was Christmas before Christmas. We ate together, some of us even danced and there will be that time when we shall go back. Can't wait.

If there is something I can be really proud of, it has to do with Mogra. Mogra made my day. Makmende. The owners of Mogra have done their part in Humanity. We may never recognize them. They have killed two birds with a stone. On one side, they have a fully functional rescue center, on the other they have a school that caters for the underprivileged. God in heaven knows their contribution to society. They can sleep soundly knowing too well they need to cater for more children. That could be the reason why the center is still under construction. They want to care for more children. I salute them. They are heroes just like those others who have given more children a lifeline and an avenue towards fulfilling their role, destiny and worth in life.

SITUONANE.


[Photo Source: My Own]