Wednesday 23 November 2016

Class 2 - start of a new chapter

 We try to make sure that when you donate or raise funds for Happy House you know how your money will be spent.
It's important to you and to us. 
We also make sure that the children in our family, the scholarship students in our school and all our staff understand how much hard work and effort goes in to fundraising.
They see the blog and Mama often reminds them. 
She she also tells them how the friends who sponsor kids work hard and make sacrifices to make a monthly donation; and how fundraising events involve a great deal of effort, ethusiasm and organisation
Everything around them, buildings to books clothes to computers; have come through the generosity of others.
This week we have launched a Buy a Book Appeal page on JustGiving, which  aims to cover the £2000 cost of stocking our Form 2 secondary class, which opens in January, with text books.
With 13 subjects on the curriculum, we've bought required books for a full class of students plus the text books and guides needed by their teachers,
It's a huge initial outlay, but one which will, over the years to come, bring so many rewards to our students.
Papa Dave, whose Yorkshire bargaining skills are now legendary amongst traders on the coast, managed to knock £135 off the price, bringing it to just under £2000, with two boxes of pens thrown in!
When he brought the books back to school, the students, all on free place scholarships and from abject poverty, were overjoyed. 
He was delivering the greatest gift, a new source of knowledge which will help raise them up to achieve in life.
They have vowed to cherish the books, which have been catalogued in our library, so they can continue in use for as long as possible.
We know that they will.
Our book fund is already at 61% of it's target £2000, thanks to catering and hospitality students at St Aidan's School, Preesall;  Inner Wheel District 19 (Lancashire & Cumbria); Kirkham URC Ladies Group and a personal donor.
Knowing that we already have £1227 towards the cost is a huge relief to Mama Sue, who is making cuts and savings wherever she can to compensate for the Brexit effect.
The drop in the £ means we now receive £135 less in every £1000 we transfer into Kenya shillings than we did prior to the referendum.
You can make a donation to buy a book. by going to https://www.justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/childrenofwatamu/buyabook
Thank you

LAST FEW DAYS TO CAST YOUR VOTE

Please vote for Children of Watamu in the documentaries category of the Charity Film Awards to highlight our work with children from despair at our at the Happy House and our founder Sue Hayward's inspiring story told in the beautiful film made for us, free of charge, by Massimiliano Zeuli  Please vote for Children of Watamu and ask your friends to do the samehttp://www.charityfilmawards.com/videos/children-of-watamu

Make a Christmas gift

If you would like to make a gift to Happy House for Christmas, here's how.
We are keeping our Festive Holiday Fund appeal open so that anyone who would like to make a Christmas gift to our family can do so there - every penny will directly benefit our children.Every penny will make a difference to children's lives. Thank you.