…the sun is shining; the sky is blue! So, we start loading the truck early in the morning at Diani Sea Lodge, which still provides us with the space for food storage. 200 parcels are to be delivered to the people today. Another 4,000 kilograms of food, which should make life a little easier for about 800 people.

Our distribution today takes us to Leisure Lodge. There it was announced a few days ago that the hotel will probably not reopen until November. This has touched all of us very much, as we ourselves are in tourism and are therefore affected by the current situation. The outlook of not having any international guests until November was quite shocking for all of us and we had to reflect a little that this is the economic decision of a company but does not mean that we are not allowed to welcome any travelers until November. Of course, we all hope that we can start a little earlier. The area needs tourism like the air to breathe.

But today our list does not only include employees of Leisure Lodge. There are also people from the nearby Leopard Beach Resort, the Piri Pirie’s restaurant and two dozen beach vendors. So today it is again a colourful field that awaits us. Many of them are already waiting outside the gate of the hotel over on time when we arrive. The security staff of the hotel supports us efficiently and of course the Red Cross Kenya is again present today. The procedure has already been discussed in advance. The recipients can enter the hotel through the staff entrance. An employee of Red Cross Kenya is standing at the gate and calls one name after the other. The people all have to wash their hands before entering the hotel and it is checked if everyone is wearing a mask. A short reminder that “social distancing” also applies here and that you must keep sufficient distance when queuing. We also add two of our volunteers, who have to remind everyone of the distance. Difficult! But nevertheless, it works out quite well.

Now the task starts again – today, however, much faster than before – you can see that the Red Cross employees have really practised. One of our volunteers also takes over a registration table for the first time today and it runs smoothly. We only have the task of taking random samples from time to time. The ID numbers are all checked for the lists without exception – and we ask people from time to time where they were previously employed and in which position they normally work. A few employees of Leisure Lodge are probably back in the hotel since a few days – and we wonder if we should cross them off the list. But as they haven’t received a salary for a few months either, we decide to go for the softer option and let them stay.

After 3 ½ successful hours we thank the employees of Red Cross Kenya for their cooperation, get their thanks insured by the management of the hotel and pack our seven things. After Havana at the Baharini Shopping Centre has opened, we move our final meeting to their terrace, think about the further fundraising marathon and where we want to be active next week. Because after the donation is before the donation – just as after the Kenya holiday can be before the Kenya holiday – and that’s why the planning continues right now.