Lesley Pidock, her husband Alan and daughter Kathryn have just returned to the
UK after their first visit to Watamu and the Happy House.
The family, who are sponsors to Janet and Natasha, found the Happy House
everything they had hoped it would be and more!
Lesley writes: " The Happy House is a magical place and I would challenge anyone
not to be moved by the smiling faces, laughter and family homeliness you feel
as you enter its doors.
That feeling of magic when you meet, and hold your sponsor children should be
bottled , it would be worth a fortune!
We sponsor Janet and Natasha and we took gifts for both - I had asked Sue what
they needed. Janet's face as she opened flip flops, Crocs, sunglasses and a pack
of colouring pencils was as good as any Christmas morning in our own home. Baby
Natasha was a little bit more laid back but Sue made up for that by changing
her in to one of the outfits we had taken for her!
Sue showed us around talking about her plans, hopes and dreams for the future -
this lady does not intend stopping! She is more inspirational in the flesh than
she was in the articles I had read about her.
We went to Happy House a few times but the best time was when the children were
arriving home from school. The tuktuk arrives and the children pile off, all
helping each other, they go to every adult in the house, shake hands and say
UK after their first visit to Watamu and the Happy House.
The family, who are sponsors to Janet and Natasha, found the Happy House
everything they had hoped it would be and more!
Lesley writes: " The Happy House is a magical place and I would challenge anyone
not to be moved by the smiling faces, laughter and family homeliness you feel
as you enter its doors.
That feeling of magic when you meet, and hold your sponsor children should be
bottled , it would be worth a fortune!
We sponsor Janet and Natasha and we took gifts for both - I had asked Sue what
they needed. Janet's face as she opened flip flops, Crocs, sunglasses and a pack
of colouring pencils was as good as any Christmas morning in our own home. Baby
Natasha was a little bit more laid back but Sue made up for that by changing
her in to one of the outfits we had taken for her!
Sue showed us around talking about her plans, hopes and dreams for the future -
this lady does not intend stopping! She is more inspirational in the flesh than
she was in the articles I had read about her.
We went to Happy House a few times but the best time was when the children were
arriving home from school. The tuktuk arrives and the children pile off, all
helping each other, they go to every adult in the house, shake hands and say
"Jambo". They go to their rooms get showered and changed and then head for the
homework tables where social worker Billy assists. It is so humbling to see
these little ones being given the BEST possible start to life, they have such a
positive attitude to education.
We had taken bubbles, power balls and play aeroplanes for the children to play
with and how I wish we had taken more planes. Alan could not make them quick
enough for them. If anyone else is going out they are just £1 for 12 in
Poundland very light to pack. They loved them! Just make sure your give
yourself an hour or so before the children so they are made before they get
there, see the photo of Alan trying to keep up with demand!
The children loves borrowing our camera and taking photos of each other they
also want to see every photo taken with a digital camera. The smiles on their
faces give you such a special feeling inside!
We went for a walk on the beach on Saturday morning and bumped into Janet at
the Turtle Watch Club, the smile on her face when she saw us was wonderful and
we could not help but give her a hug and spend time with her. Such happy
memories for us.
On Sunday it rained most of the day, we were sitting around in the hotel, just
reading, when Alan said "We are sat here and we could be playing with the
children at Happy House", within seconds we were on our way armed with a box of
cornflour! we made GOUP (anyone with early years experience will know what this
is) , and what fun we had, Billy looked on in amazement and we played with the
mixture, the children played for what seemed like ages all enjoying the texture,
getting messy and generally having fun!
homework tables where social worker Billy assists. It is so humbling to see
these little ones being given the BEST possible start to life, they have such a
positive attitude to education.
We had taken bubbles, power balls and play aeroplanes for the children to play
with and how I wish we had taken more planes. Alan could not make them quick
enough for them. If anyone else is going out they are just £1 for 12 in
Poundland very light to pack. They loved them! Just make sure your give
yourself an hour or so before the children so they are made before they get
there, see the photo of Alan trying to keep up with demand!
The children loves borrowing our camera and taking photos of each other they
also want to see every photo taken with a digital camera. The smiles on their
faces give you such a special feeling inside!
We went for a walk on the beach on Saturday morning and bumped into Janet at
the Turtle Watch Club, the smile on her face when she saw us was wonderful and
we could not help but give her a hug and spend time with her. Such happy
memories for us.
On Sunday it rained most of the day, we were sitting around in the hotel, just
reading, when Alan said "We are sat here and we could be playing with the
children at Happy House", within seconds we were on our way armed with a box of
cornflour! we made GOUP (anyone with early years experience will know what this
is) , and what fun we had, Billy looked on in amazement and we played with the
mixture, the children played for what seemed like ages all enjoying the texture,
getting messy and generally having fun!
We are already planning a trip next year,
I have arranged a Party Lite candle party for friends, neighbours and work
colleagues at the end of August and all profit is going to Happy house, the
contribution I can make is small but if lots of us make small contributions
then together with Sue and Dave we can make BIG changes to the lives of these
wonderful children."
I have arranged a Party Lite candle party for friends, neighbours and work
colleagues at the end of August and all profit is going to Happy house, the
contribution I can make is small but if lots of us make small contributions
then together with Sue and Dave we can make BIG changes to the lives of these
wonderful children."
