This is the way we build a wall .... quickly!
Work is steaming ahead on building a wall to enclose the Happy House grounds and keep our family ever safer. It is thanks very kind new friend and supporter, who prefers to remain anonymous, who donated £6,000 as soon as she heard that we needed to replace the wire fence, writes Elizabeth Gomm
The increase in crime in the area, much of it violent, has been worrying Sue and Dave who felt the Happy House may be vulnerable and were anxious to make sure their family was a safe as it could be.
Our new friend and her family live in the UK but have a holiday home in Watamu and have visited there many times.
She hasn't visited the Happy House yet but heard about Sue's work through a friend and wanted to know more about it ... and was bowled over by what she saw on the website and contacted me in the UK to see how they could help. As soon as I told her about the need for a wall she promised to send a cheque.
She said that she and her family were making their donation because of their admiration for the work of Sue and her team and because of their own love for the local people who she describes as gentle and resilient in the face of poverty, unimaginable to all except those who have seen it for themselves.
"The children in Watamu touch your heart, they are fun, they are kind and they need help," she says.
She stresses that her family's support for the Happy House will be ongoing and appeals to others, in a position to help, to look globally, beyond their own needs and effects of the recession, and to do what they can address real hardship in the underdeveloped countries of the world, like Kenya.
The Happy House struck a chord with her because of the excellence of the child care it gives, in a true family environment, where every child is loved and respected as an individual.
Her family's generosity is a godsend. It came just as Sue and I were working together to launch a buy-a-brick appeal to build a wall, which may have taken many months to reach its target.
Sue says: "It is just so generous, totally out of the blue, and exactly when we needed it.
"We are so grateful and looking forward to meeting these wonderfully kind people.
"Knowing our family are as secure as we can make them is our top priority. We are here to keep children safe in every single way. Now we will be safe as houses at the Happy House."
The wall, around our 4 acre site, is now well on the way. In just a week, the sand and blocks arrived and the bricklaying has started... with women doing all the labouring!
Sue adds: "Everyone is enjoying watching the way our wall goes up and singing ... "This is the way we build a wall, build a wall!"
"Thank you so, so, much for making it possible."
