Corinne’s Kitchen – named after the valiant and very fit young lecturer from St Mary’s University College Twickenham, who ran the London Marathon for the SECOND TIME this year for Educateperu. Thus the hot breakfast provision for the godparented children (ie the poorest) began this last week. The children eat at 7.15am so that they can have plenty of time before school starts at 7.40. I arrived on a damp, misty,still-dark morning 5 mins late, despite being on the first bus of the day at 5am (and I had to stand it was so full!)…but nevertheless, they had started on time and the silence was impressive. Like little piglets at the trough, they were all lined up on their chairs, nicely eating their 2 rolls filled with a spinach omelette and drinking their hot wheatgerm and cinnamon milk in a companionable silence. They were seated at tables, which is not so common in their own houses from what I have seen and behaving very well. They take food very seriously here – I was daft enough to observe that there was no bin….it wouldn’t be needed and it wasn’t. There was nothing left and the little ones who couldn’t finish both their rolls, had the leftovers wrapped up to eat at break time, when usually they are the ones who have nothing then either. Each day the breakfast is different; one day it was milk spiced differently and ham in the rolls, another day it was hot chocolate + cheese in the rolls, another day, fruit and so on.
If anyone is thinking of being a godparent but did not really know how their money would be spent and if it would be spent in the right way, then please observe the photos carefully and their little faces. They loved it – it had the air of a club about it all. I can’t think when I have enjoyed myself so much.