Vocational bible study significant to children

Parents of about 300 children Saturday expressed their happiness with the children’s Vocational Bible Study (VBS) offered to their youngsters at St James Cathedral in Kiambu town as it nurtures talent and promotes socialization.
Rachael Wambui, a mother of a 6-year-old child told KNA at the church that during holidays her son would spend most of his time at home which exposed him to hazards within the estate. She was informed about the VBS by a friend and decided to enroll him so that he too could benefit from the religious activity.
She said this was the second time that her son was benefitting from the program and that she could see the positive changes in him.
“My son would spend all day watching cartoons when he was on school break. He rarely went out to play with other children,” Wambui said, adding that toys such as puzzle games for her son seemed to bore rather than entertain him at his age.
“I decided to take my boy to the vocational study in April and after a few days I noticed that he had made quite a number of friends,” she said.
Brian Muigai, a Sunday school teacher at the church said the church’s children ministry registers children aged 3 to 13 for the program during school holidays.
“Every year we conduct such an activity thrice, during the months of April, August and December when schools have closed for the holidays,” Muigai said.
The vocational study is always free and open to all children irrespective of their religious denominations as long as they are within the required age bracket. He also said that a snack and lunch are offered daily until the end of the programme.
“We not only teach religious education but also conduct co-curricular activities such as indulging children in games such as football and skating,” Muigai said.
There are different classes to cater for the different age groups. For instance, there are youngsters who are between 3 to 6, Ambassadors who comprise of children aged 7 to 10 and Eagles who are above 10 years.
Muigai regards VBS as important as a complete sermon as children are able to spend some of their time indulging in physical activities which increases their physique and helps them mentally and spiritually.
He said that these activities can help them identify and develop their talents which will be useful to them in future as they can even learn to team up with friends that can be their collaborators when they grow up.
By Harry Kamanda