Mandazis for Kambi Teso

It's hard to eat Mandazis without your front teeth!

If you come to Kenya, (or one of my fundraisers), you will probably be served mandazis - traditional African donuts. Seems like every country has discovered the greatness of fried bread. I learned how to make these and really love making them for guests, teams, staff meetings, or just anytime! If you go to a special function or ceremony in Kenya you might be served chai and mandazis. Or if someone invites you to breakfast or for a meet-and-greet or hosts you as their guest - chai and mandazis! They are also served for special occasions and holidays. Last month, I made mandazis for our staff and then was thinking of the kids in Kambi Teso, and wondered how often they get a mandazi. I thought it would be fun to make some for all our kids in the feeding program. Mety and Elliot came over and helped - we fried mandazis for about 3 hours! I lined a laundry basket with a double layer of blue plastic garbage bags lined with paper towels, and we filled the whole bag! (I didn't consider that throwing them in straight from hot oil would melt some of the bag. Don't eat the blue mandazis!) We surprised Kambi Teso with them the next day. We've had a surplus of eggs at the village lately, so it just happened that the same day the kids were also getting boiled eggs with their lunch. It was like Christmas in June!

There were more than enough for the kids to have two mandazis each!

Waiting in line - "say mandazis!"

A lot of the kids saved their mandazis and eggs for last - not this one! =)

 Yum!

For some reason this day reminded me of a long time ago when I was little and a friend from our church took my sisters and I for a day out. We had a lot of fun that day but the thing I remember best was going to the mall and eating huge ice cream cones for breakfast. It was such a surprising treat - I still remember that day! So many times, I feel like there’s never enough I can do for these kids. I forget that even small things can have a huge impact! It’s easy to see the big picture and feel like I don’t have enough resources to change it. It’s easy to use that as an excuse to do nothing - but God says we should give whatever we have. When you get the chance to do something small for someone, just do it! 

“Do your little bit of good. It’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”

 - Desmond Tutu

"One person can make a difference and everyone should try." 

- John F. Kennedy