It sure was a fantastic highlight in the life of some Kenyan youngsters to welcome Lufthansa Cargo’s latest Boeing Triple Seven freighter at Nairobi Kenyatta International. There, they enthusiastically attended the naming ceremony of the craft.
“Jambo Kenya”, which stands for ‘welcome’ or ‘hello Kenya’, is the newly written name on the hull of the second Boeing 777 freighter LH Cargo has put into service, after having baptized their first Triple Seven jetliner “Good Day, USA”. The so far nameless craft was already delivered on November 27, 2013 by plane maker Boeing and since then utilized by LH Cargo on transatlantic routes. Now, however, it was time to route D-ALFB to its name-giving African continent to have its official name unveiled in a stylish ceremony at Nairobi Airport.
Among the many hons and official that attended the spectacle were also a group of children that set their feet on the airport’s tarmac for the first time in their life. They stem from Kenya’s
poorest quarters and have spent most of their childhood in the care of Mothers’ Mercy Home (MMH), a social institution by the Anglican Church, and Cargo Human Care (CHC), a project that’s
sponsored since long by Lufthansa Cargo in conjunction with 40 German medics, foundations and other donors.
Headed was the group by caregiver Paula Karanja, who is responsible for the MMH and Medical Center. Her comment, when the show was near its end: “It was a magnificent sight!! We could not remove
our eyes from the extra ordinary Boeing 777F. We were so honored to be part of the group that had to welcome ‘Jambo Kenya’. We shouted, danced and waved our flags. Our voices went hoarse and our
MMH children were overwhelmed.”
Set up to give some of the poorest a home, medical treatment, and a decent education to manage their lives on their own after becoming adults, MMH and CHC were founded seven years ago. Now the first 18 have finished school and had to leave the institution that had supported and sheltered them throughout almost their entire lifetime. The moving out of their safe harbor was quite a break for each of them which meanwhile are accommodated by relatives or placed in friendly families. But since each additional hungry mouth is an additional burden to their hosts both MMH and CHC continue supporting them to a certain degree. “What we need are cell phones, particularly clam shells, including batteries and chargers,” says CHC Chairman and LH Cargo’s chief pilot for the MD-11F fleet, Fokko Doyen. “We want to keep staying in touch with the youngsters to further accompany them along their future paths.”
Meanwhile CHC is providing training sponsorships for school-leavers. “To bring this to a proper end we still are looking for some godparents to support the next phase of the young people’s
development,” asks CHC Board Member Martin Schlingensiepen for assistance and help.
For becoming a sponsor or obtaining further information please visit www.cargohumancare.com
Donations should be sent to
Cargo Human Care e.V.
c/o Karolina Haetty
Lufthansa Cargo AG
FRA F/OF Airport Area West
Gate 25, Building 420
D-60546 Frankfurt / Germany
Heiner Siegmund