My name is Carl-Johan and I’m currently doing volunteer work here at the KCE center. Why I chose to work for this particular organization is that it has a great reputation and that it’s Sweden based, which suits my Swedish heritage well! Coming from such a developed country as Sweden to Nairobi and Kibera really gives you perspective on life as we know it. Even though the children in Kibera live in extreme poverty and possess almost nothing when it comes to materialism, the gratefulness and joy you experience when you enter the doors to the KCE center is mind blowing. At the center the children can be just what they are, children, and also do what children should be able to do: play games, read, joke around, draw, or just sit down with the staff and discuss whatever is on their mind at the time. I for instance brought a guitar to the center for the children and from the moment I played the first chord the instrument hasn’t been put down, because it has just been passed around the group of kids. Because here the phrase “sharing is caring” actually has a meaning!
Even after I eventually leave this place, I’ll never forget what KCE and the kids of Kibera brought to my life: appreciation of what I have and the meaning of laughter and sharing!