Christmas is a special time, also in Korando. But things are different here in Korando. That means, for Korando it needs a sponsor to have a nice dinner and a little party for Christmas. Luckily, we did have a sponsor. I can only speak for our community, but here Christmas was as it is supposed to be: a happy time together as a big family. On Christmas Eve the Better Me team and all the other staff have cooked for all the children (some of the children helped us cooking though). It was a great meal for all of us. These children usually don’t have that kind of meal much often. But for this special evening it was possible. Once anything needed for dinner has arrived, all were happy, knowing how the evening would be like.

After the dinner there was a nice little party and all kept dancing together. There were some celebrations in the town on the 25th, but we stayed in Korando. Not only because we can’t bring all our 17 children to the town. Instead, we celebrated together with the children here, which sometimes can be a bit of a challenge. 😂  But overall, it was a very nice evening.

On 25th we had another meal together with the children. The difference from usual is that there is also a soft drink and sweets and cookies for everyone available, in addition to the meal. All meals and drinks for the Christmas days were sponsored by a private person from Frankfurt/Main, Germany. So much for presents. It is unusual to have such kind of meals, especially including soft drinks and sweets, and much less if over a span of multiple days.

From what I could learn (does not mean it reflects reality to 100%), only some people here know and/or care about the problems in the world. Most people I have met have different worries of their own (e.g. with daily life) and yet they don’t mope around. On the contrary, people are still happy and friendly.

Depending on how one is looking at it, all this Christmas gift shopping is something that only a minority can afford in my environment. That’s a few of prosperous people who can also be met in a (western oriented) supermarket. There are shopping malls like in many other parts of this world. However, this reminds me of the huge difference between rich and poor, which is quite visible here in Kisumu town. Either way, what matters here is rather the social aspect and the get together. To celebrate, to dance, to have a nice time and to be happy to have a wonderful time and a special meal.