Steam rises in slow waves, swirling into the air from the plate set down in front of you. You feel the warmth from the food pressing into your face as you gaze down. You inhale the aroma of the freshly battered fried chicken. The tender meat is covered in a contrasting crunch of the batter, fried to a crisp. Shifting your eyes to the kitchen, you see a young girl, smiling and dancing as she stirs a pot of vegetables. As she plates the food and hands it to the hungry dinner guests, it’s as if the plate is screaming, “I love you” to each guest from the cook herself.
This is the message Winnie joyfully conveys each time she cooks. She tells her mother to sit down and relax – to let Winnie do the cooking instead. She fully displays her commitment and care to her mother and family each time she steps into the kitchen.
Before Winnie began cooking on her own, her mother taught her all the cooking skills she had mastered herself. They worked side by side in the kitchen, whipping up chapati and rice. Winnie’s cooking skills also expanded in school in her home science class.
Cooking is what Winnie loves to do. She is thrilled that she is able to learn more about cooking at school too. But she didn’t always have access to an education to be able to do so. She lives in a slum called Mathare in Nairobi, Kenya. Her family didn’t have enough money to provide an education for Winnie. At only 15 years old – living in the slums with no access to education – Winnie’s future seemed destined for a life in the slums.
But what a surprise it was to Winnie when a normal day of lounging on the couch in her home turned into an unforgettably joyful day. Tears of thanks streamed down her face after hearing the news that she had received a scholarship to go to school thanks to The Hope Venture and their partnership with Agape Integrated Group. Winnie never thought she would get to go to school, or even that she would be chosen as a recipient of a scholarship. But here she was, crying, dancing, and singing praise after hearing the news of her scholarship.
Now that Winnie is in school, she wants to work hard to achieve her dreams of being a chef. Winnie loves food. The process of food – from garden to table. Making food and knowing how to cook it – boiling, baking, chopping, frying. Eating food – yum! There are so many elements to food that Winnie loves. And not only does she understand that making food is a process, but she sees the process in attending school as well. She wants to be diligent in attending classes, studying, doing her best work, and experiencing the joy of it all throughout the process, keeping her eyes fixed on her goal of becoming a professional chef one day.
