Community Kitchen Updates from Natacha Dominique, Children’s Village Administrator
In general, children are afraid of change. If we want to help them understand and be comfortable in changing a habit, we have to think about the best strategy to help them enjoy the transition.
We held our grand opening for our community kitchen on October 31, but we prepared the children first.
The children, caregivers, and other staff gathered for a meal together in the cafeteria. I explained the objective of the community kitchen and some helpful rules to keep everyone working together. Everyone was happy and clapped for the team that played a part in bringing the community kitchen to the Children’s Village.
On the first day the children enjoyed the food, drinks, and cake prepared by the new cooks. They also celebrated with music. The first day was a success, and the children were happy to eat together. The cafeteria is an attractive, clean, and welcoming space.
The new kitchen is beneficial to the entire Children’s Village.
Now, every child has the same opportunity to eat with other children. Each day they all have access to the same alimentation. The kitchen is managed by someone who has the most experience in cooking and who can influence the cooks to prepare better food for the children to keep them healthy.
The community kitchen provides us with a better use of the food items we currently have in the depot. Generous sponsors brought a tremendous blessing through the community kitchen.
The children had a great, positive response to the community kitchen. We are all grateful to our sponsors and staff in Haiti and the United States. The children have pride and excitement for their new space. They are happy to clean the tables after meals and celebrate each bite to avoid waste.