This is what drives me to feed orphans charity

Magnet Mwangi is a graphic designer, emcee and the coordinator of Charity Ambassadors, a group that engages in feeding orphans.

As the Coordinator at Charity Ambassadors, how does a typical day look like for you?
My days start at 5am, and I start snacking immediately I wake up. I then log onto our social media pages, mainly Facebook and WhatsApp, where I share information on what we do and respond to questions from viewers.

Mobilising the public to come visit an orphanage is always hard, so I share our upcoming events every day, complete with photos and videos of what we’ve achieved so far. At 8am, I report to work and spend the rest of the day working as a graphic designer. In the evening, I get back on social media to continue mobilising and drawing people to our cause. 

How do you determine which orphanage to visit?
There are so many children's homes coming up, and some have even turned them into businesses. To determine an orphanage that needs our help, we usually do a pre-visit during which we find out whether the orphanage is registered. We also assess the situation in terms of salient needs, how it is run, and how children are being taken care of. It is not unusual to find orphanages where children are kept in sorry states just to attract well-wishers. Once we determine the legitimacy of the orphanage, the key needs and establish that children are well taken care of, we start planning the visit.

Why is feeding orphans important compared to other things that can be done for orphans? 
Food is a basic human right. Food is life. As an organisation, we provide food because it is the most essential need for any human. The food we provide gives them a valuable lifeline. When families lose the main breadwinner and children are unable to fend for themselves, finding food is often the hardest thing. Therefore, before even telling an orphan child about education, you first have to ensure they are well fed otherwise they won’t pay attention.

You spend so much of your time helping the less fortunate, what drew you to this?
It certainly didn’t come from having more than enough. It is a habit I cultivated from a tender age. I would share my food with our neighbours' kids who had little. I carried the same habit to high school where I used to share my food with those whose families hadn’t come to Visiting Day. After I completed my education, joining a charity group to help the less fortunate seemed like a no brainer because it gives me such deep satisfaction.

We often see people help the less fortunate for the sake of publicity. What are your thoughts on this?
This is quite common, but believe me, those you help can tell whether you’re doing it out of your heart or just chasing clout. When you keep insisting to take photos while offering your donation, they will know you’re doing it to show off and that really hurts the children. Some even go to the extent of recording videos of needy people accepting and thanking them for the donations. This is not good. However, if you take a group photo to let the public know about the work you are doing and to mobilise more people to help, that’s acceptable.

You have interacted with a lot of orphans, what impact has this had on you?
Spending time with those who have less helps you appreciate the little you have. When you spend time in an orphanage, you’ll realise that the possessions you consider normal, are a luxury to some. Whereas you might complain that you’ve never eaten in a five-star hotel, some complain that they haven’t eaten at all. This really changes your perspective.

What do you think is a more permanent solution that can help orphans?
From my experience, we can reduce the number of orphaned children by living responsibly. Many children are left orphans after losing their parents to terminal diseases such as HIV/AIDS. If we can take more precaution such as avoiding promiscuity and adhering to the right medication, we can reduce the number of orphaned children. Secondly, many children lose their parents to road accidents, which can be reduced if road users would be more vigilant and responsible. Some orphans were abandoned by their parents who weren’t ready to become parents. If the youth can avoid sexual immorality, we might see a decline in the number of orphans. Lastly, families and communities need to step in and take care of children who are abandoned instead of leaving them in children’s homes.
 
What are some of your proudest achievements?
There was a beneficiary who thanked me profusely after we mobilised donors to help pay his school fees. He completed his undergraduate studies, something that would not have happened if we had not intervened. We also recently organised a creative modelling event powered by a few Kenyan companies where the children were to come up with outfits representing the various companies. This was a very impactful event and one that I am very proud of. 

What other activities do you engage in?
I find joy in reading books and newspapers and I have even published three books titled Ten Causes of Mpango Wa Kando, How to Choose a Marriage Partner and Ten Golden Secrets of Marriage. 

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