Sharing Cake, Changing Lives

The VSO motto is “sharing skills, changing lives”.. and I think I’ve certainly lived up to that recently…….

 

As you have probably seen I like making cakes, and I often take them into the lab for the staff to eat at tea-time. This is always a source of amusement and astonishment that being a man, I know how to cook and can make cake!  I always say (half-joking) that I would teach them if want, and this week one of the lab staff, Mtalika took me up on the offer!  I also invited Mama Pepe who runs the  little “restaurant” where I buy my rice and beans every lunchtime who was also impressed by my baking abilities!

 

So with  Two Tanzanians (one male, one female, one muslim one catholic) and two Wazungu (myself and Claire) we embarked on my first Nyangao cookery lesson… in Kiswahili (with plenty of demonstration when I realised I don’t know the words for “to cream”, “whisk” and “cake mix-like consisetency”.  

 

 

 

The result:  One coffee cake, one Mango cake and one Bannana cake; 2 happy Tanzanians; 1 exhausted james!   Word has now got out to the rest of the hospital staff that I am “Mwalimu Mpishi” – “Teacher chef”… and the cookery school is booked full for the next few lessons!

 

I just hope they will cook some cake at home for ME to eat on tea break!

 Sharing cake… changing lives