E.C. Glass dinner will help school in Nairobi

E.C. Glass High School students will play host Saturday to those attending their African dinner — and a special guest.

if you’re going

-What: Mercy Care Centre Foundation African dinner
-Where: E.C. Glass High School
-When: 6 p.m. Saturday
-Cost: $20; tickets can be picked up from Peakland Baptist Church or reserved and picked up at the door. Call (434) 942-6575 or (434) 525-6812

The dinner benefits the Mercy Care Centre, a Christian school located in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya. The school’s headmaster Patrick Lumumba will be in attendance at the dinner.

Lumumba made the 18-hour trip to the U.S. to visit Glass and other area schools.

“Everywhere I go I see smiles,” Lumumba said Thursday morning while meeting with a group of Glass students. He added he’s moved by the generosity of people in Lynchburg.

Under the guidance of teacher Patty Worsham, students have formed the Mercy Care Club to raise funds for the impoverished school that serves 400 students. Glass students planned to present Lumumba with a $1,000 donation Thursday.

“Our big goal is to raise at least $3,000 for a new roof on the library,” Worsham said. “The roof is a little sketchy.”

Lumumba added: “I hope it’s not raining now.”

It’s not the first contribution students made to the school. The club also hosted an African dinner last year and has donated various books and supplies. Worsham, along with others, even visited the Mercy Care Centre over the summer.

For Saturday’s dinner, students have volunteered to act as servers and provide baked goods. Culinary arts students are preparing appetizers.

The dinner will also include a brown nut stew, which is a chicken dish with peanut sauce. There will be a silent auction of African crafts brought by Lumumba.

Glass students said they are happy to help students in need across the world.

“I love the support that we give. It’s a good feeling. It’s a warm fuzzy feeling,” senior Kathleen Lifsey said.