What memories does the whiff of fresh baked bread evoke in you? Happy thoughts of childhood; a familiar, wholesome, amazing taste; crusty on the outside and fluffy on the inside? A new Charcoal Bread Oven was recently bought for the Orphanages of Kenya from donations and now our orphans will also be able to share in those memories! The local director, Pastor Bonaface, brought in two professionals from Kenya to train the cooks how to use the charcoal bread oven and how to bake bread and cakes. The children were so excited and said it was the best bread they had ever had “in their whole lives”! (In fact, it was the only fresh bread they had ever had!)
The charcoal bread oven opens up so many other options and doors for the orphans too! Not only will it provide fresh bread for the children and help them to be more self-sustained and save money, it will allow the children to learn how to make bread; possibly teaching them a skill that would enable them to make a living someday. The new oven bakes 20 loaves of bread or 4 birthday cakes at a time which will give them an opportunity to sell products to the surrounding community to help support the orphanage. There is also baking classes available in Nairobi which would open up other possibilities of a trade school for our children, should they not be able to go on to college. They would be taught how to bake and decorate cakes and queen cakes.
Charcoal ovens are very popular in Kenya and are as easy to use as gas or electric, yet less expensive and save on energy. Ours is a medium sized, four level oven, purchased directly from the factory in Nairobi from Cookswell Jikos. It is advertised that they would even be able to bake pizza, muffins; roast meat and vegetables like zucchini; even roast a goat and a half! The acacia tree, as well as tree branches, twigs, and corn cobs are readily available in the area to be made into charcoal using a small kiln. Fresh bread, clean water, an education and a family that loves and cares for them. It doesn’t get better than that!
