Once upon a time, a man with a highly polished ‘Queens English’ accent presented a project plan to a group sitting in a South African Hotel (and) Conference Centre in Pretoria. It was a broader World Bank supported project. My personal involvement at the time was on the subject of Gender Issues of Rural Transport. I was specifically interested in how to ‘puncture-proof’ Donkey Carts for Maasai Women. As a rural boy who carried coffee to the factory on my bicycle, I related well with the work burden, infrastructure and other rural transport issues women faced. I was out to offer what we called Intermediate Means of Transport for women. The year was 1999 (long before the notorious Bodaboda became a common feature in our lives). It was strange to meet a person who I discovered to be my countryman – and tribesman at that, (his name gave him away) in a foreign country, in a 4-Star Hotel, talking “rural transport”.
At the tea-break, I approached this clearly knowledgeable man and, to my surprise, he was amiable and cool, (maybe, I thought ) as long as I did not break into the tribal language, I guessed. I told him I liked his presentation and that I was from Kenya. He casually told me he too was Kenyan, but lived in Zimbabwe! Tribe did not feature anywhere in the conversation at this point – or even soon after! Perhaps we were too forward looking to be bothered by tribe!
What does this have to do with Children’s World?! … you may ask!
I got to know Ezra Mbogori better as we went on to implement the Gender and Rural Transport project. Despite our being high-fliers, we shared a passion for and talked at length about an important but generally “trivialized” subject; rural development, African poverty and women’s empowerment, donkey power and welfare issues etc. We did it in high and low places, at every opportunity. Our next memorable meeting was one I hosted for continental European and American delegates, at the United Nations Complex in Gigiri, Nairobi.
With Ezra, we connected and bonded at a very deep level. Before long we were actively exploring issues impacting development at levels where many do not dwell, until we started talking about our children. At the time, my two boys were around 8 and 10. His 3 girls were at similar ages. We talked in detail about parenting in general and fatherhood in particular. We talked about the challenges and the fears of child rearing. I learnt that Ezra was the proverbial ‘son of a preacherman!’ His father was at the time, the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church. I revealed that both my parents were Teachers. By interesting coincidence both of us observed and got very passionate about the lack of child-friendly environments in the Cities in which we lived. We could have used play centres like I had seen during my sabbatical leave, living with my family in the UK, 5 years before. Better than Nairobi, where there was no such facility, Ezra knew of a Jungle Gym his kids frequented, in the beautiful City of Harare, where he was based.
To cut a long story short, our honest and deep passions drove us towards establishing the First ultra-modern Play Centre in Nairobi. Like they say, “The Rest is History”. The Centre was super-elaborate, utilizing skills of top professionals like I had retained to build my Runda Home, including the architect and his partner, Interior Designer. The Centre had fittings designed, built, shipped and installed by “Jungle Gym” technicians of Zimbabwe. Fixtures and play materials were imported from Ikea of Dubai and Early Learning Centre of UK. We did not care about the cost, we just wanted the best Centre for Nairobi’s kids. We had suffered enough and, so far as we were concerned, future parents should not have to suffer the same fate!!!
The resulting unit was a one-of-a-kind 40,000 square metre facility located on the 2nd floor of the Adams Arcade shopping Mall. It consisted of an inbuilt-café, air-conditioned mini-theatre, video and computer-game studios, a small library, a toddler-section and a huge Jungle Gym. Here children tested their agility by swinging across adventure packs, climbing on ropes and obstacles, sliding onto lower levels of the multi-level structure, tackling the series of biff-bash vines, before landing into a large ball pool, among other landings.
The excitement created in the play unit was palpable. For Children’s World, the ultimate indicator of success was the refusal of children to leave the premises at the end of their allotted time!
The unit could be booked for events like family Birthday and Anniversary celebrations. It could accommodate up to 6 family events at a go, on the same day. The success of the Centre became the talk of the town and within a relatively short period, this became the ‘go-to’ place for total and inclusive family fun. At the time, there was no similar location in Nairobi. At the Centre, a parent could have coffee and even program a serious meeting at the Unit Café, if not at the First Java Coffee House – downstairs. This, as their toddler enjoyed guided play in their section as the older sibling watched a Movie or a Puppeteer in the mini-theatre. Dancing classes, cooking sessions with play-oven and utensils, boys playing with building and construction toys and board games etc. made every child want to come back.
The power and the mix of education with entertainment -“Edutainment”- became a fitting description of the model for which Children’s World came to be known.
Over time the Centre provided the ultimate destination for pay and play fun. Around the theme and unit, curious parents and up-market clients visited and planned their outings. Mothers of all races and backgrounds dropped their children at the play centre. They were assured of a safe environment, managed by carefully selected childcare specialists. Upon dropping their children, they would be free to have a meeting in the café (as the kids played), go shopping, go to the Gym, or run planned errands Children’s World received much positive feedback in form of numerous “Thank You” cards and other forms of acknowledgement.
Childrens World Crèches are now managed by Ezra’s wife, Wanjiru Mbogori, a specialist mother and grandmother, a childcare expert and natural friend of children. She is a highly trained Family, Nutrition and Trauma Counselling Psychologist with a big heart.
We conservatively estimate that we have “edutained” at least 10,000 children and changed the ‘happiness’ outlooks of at least 2000 households, over the past few years.
Join us in this Caring Journey by bringing your child and their sibling or even your grandchild to the Creche. Come and join us in telling a story, playing with a child, where rules allow. If nothing else, get in touch here or on our Social Media Platforms and tell us your childhood story; why Creches are important or any other child upbringing story you may have…just indulge us and please be our guest!
