The crowds are gathered, men and women, school going children and toddlers alike.
The mothers with the young babies on their backs, on one hand they are holding their 3-year-olds hand to avoid losing sight of them in the midst of the myriad number of people, while on the other hand, they hold an empty dish in their carrier bag.
The men are straight from work, in fact, from their feet you can tell they are from the nearest ongoing construction site. The conversations are now getting louder and louder while the movement towards the entrance becomes evident, and this marks about fifteen minutes to one o’clock.
The journey to getting here was not the smoothest thanks to the countless potholes and uneven road network. It is dusty and you will not miss product wrappers dropped in one place or the other.
The air is filled with so much laughter and joy from the children playing together as they run from one place to the other. This is Mlolongo slum area, and that is the scene that has captured our hearts and eyes since 12th July, 2022, to date, every Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.
Kapa Oil Refineries embarked on feeding two schools, namely; Mlolongo Adventist & Seventh Day Adventist Church and St. Barnabas Anglican Church Mlolongo close to one year ago. This was after thorough scouting of less fortunate communities to extend a hand to through providing a meal twice every week.
This program has seen more than 1000 individuals; school going children, teachers, guardians and the community at large enjoy well balanced diets and even carry some home for their next meals every week.
The students and community have expressed their joy and satisfaction of the program by citing how beneficial it has been not only in satisfying their basic need of having food but also in easing them of the bills incurred in putting food on their table at least for these two days of the week.
To make the program successful, a team of Kapa staff show up every week to assist in feeding this community. The team takes charge of serving, the security team also provides personnel to assist in maintaining order and coordination while the drivers transport the food from the supplier to the schools. Talk of team work!
By conducting this feeding program, Kapa Oil Refineries demonstrates consistency in contributing to SDG 2-Zero Hunger, whereby we have continuously put a meal on the table for families every week for the past one year and still ongoing.
‘If you cannot feed a hundred people, feed one’ Mother Teresa.
