Thursday 5 March 2015

New sisters greeted with warmth and love

Hardship and hunger has dominated the lives of these five sisters since the death of their parents several years ago.
Khadija, now 15, Sidi, 13, Mercy, 10, Faida, 8, and Riziki, 6, were left  with their two older brorthers to care and provide for them.
Nelson and Wilson, then 14 and 12, were both still in primary school.
Nelson dropped out of school when he was in class six and started doing causal work to try to support his siblings. 
Finding work wasn't easy and the family sometimes went without food and other basic necessities, including clothes,  and lived in makeshift housing. 
When Nelson married and moved to start his own household, they were left without hope. 
Fortune smiled on them, fleetingly, when in 2011 they were chosen as beneficiaries of a support programme run by a national UK charity which aims to maintain children in need within family units in the community.
But as  it was a one-year programme , the children were in crisis again when it ended in 2012 leaving Wilson, then in fourth form, as their breadwinner with assistance from a wellwisher, Elizabeth Nafula.
Elizabeth has become increasingly concerned for the future of the growing girls brought them to Happy House.
With help and support from their new Happy House sisters they are adjusting to their new family. 
Our teachers have been assessing their abilities and whilst the two younger girls are doing quite well, the eldest three have a lot of catching up to do and have very poor grasp of English - an essential as it is the first language in all Kenyan schools.
They are being given special tuition to help them to improve their skills.
Another child, Jacinta, who was brought down from the north of Kenya to work as a housegirl is also  with our family, temporarily, until she can be repatriated.
Mama said: "When when the lady she was to work for saw she was only 13, she refused to have her. Jacinta then went to live with a friend of her Mum’s who is not in a good position to take care of her.
We have brought her home until Uncle Billy can contact her mum and we can organise for her to be sent back.
"She didn't want to come to Happy House, she cried and wouldn’t get a shower. We had to tell her quite firmly that she would be staying until we can sort things out. A girl like that is at high such risk.
"Today she is fine smiling and mixing with the others. Our kids are so kind.
"On Monday teatime I called a Kidz Klub to announce our new arrivals.
"I started by saying it has been a great day as you now have six new sisters, well they clapped and cheered, started singing welcome welcome so loud, it was very moving, it was all so natural.
"Next morning we were here at 6am and each new child was with one of my girls bringing them to breakfast, and taking care of them.
" It was PE day in school and they had all been given shorts and a tee shirt, so yes we are a truly caring and sharing family."
Please, can you sponsor a child?

* With so  many tragic youngsters coming into our family in the past two months,  we are desperate for more sponsors to help support these children. As you may know, we build a sponsor family for each child. Some sponsors just want to give financial support, so by having more than one sponsor a child has a chance of having someone who will want to get to know them through emails, send birthday and Christmas cards and the occasional gift.  It also cushions the blow for a child, who has already endured loss in their life,  if a sponsor has a change of circumstances and has to end their support.  Every sponsor opens a unique window on the world of their child, bringing them a sense of love and friendship from beyond the Happy House.  It costs just £20 a month to sponsor Happy House child. To find out more, please email: elizabethgomm@childrenofwatamu.net
Pictured: Chloe Groves with her sponsor child Said on a recent visit.