A bond distance cannot break

Overwhelmed by a tidal wave of love, I say my goodbyes to Mama Sue, Papa Dave and our Happy House family.
In the past seven years of travelling to help at Happy House there have been more than a dozen farewells, writes Elizabeth Gomm. 

with Pendo and Morphin

It doesn't get easier.
This time, the affection of the kids, those living with us and others just back for a Christmas holiday, is almost tangible.
Loving these children is easy, they capture hearts with every breath they take. 
The kids of Kenya won my heart 10 years ago when Sue, then still living in Blackpool, showed me some film footage of the children who had motivated her mission to build her Happy House.
It was then just a seed of an idea,

Morphin and me

From that day on, I have have been doing all I can support Sue in cultivating her seed to fruition, and to providing the regular income required to sustain it and keep it growing as a flourishing entity, where broken lives are made whole again..
I have also become Auntie Libby to every  one of the children who has passed through our doors and those being educated in our schools.
It is my joy and my privilege to love these children.
But to know the love I give is returned, and to feel its warmth,  is truly wonderful. 
It's just like the words of one of our favourite Happy House songs:  
Love is something if you give it away
Give it away, give it away
Love is something if you give it away
You end up having more
It's just like a magic penny
Hold it tight and you won't have any
Lend it, spend it, and give it away
And it will come right back to you.

In the last three weeks I have had so many magical moments.

Take little  David, running towards me, with his lips puckered ready for a kiss

Abdulmalik

Esther, another child I have known since she was just a  scrap of life, rushing up, wide eyed, for a big hug

Saying goodbye

Hearing Abdulmalik, usually shy of newcomers, shouting "Auntie Libby Auntie Libby" every time he sees me.

When I take his picture, he blows me kisses!
Michelle, one of our newer arrivals, snuggling up close and Stevie slipping his little hand into mine.

There more moments like these, involving other youngsters, that will live on in my memory always.  

Now back in the cold, the thoughts of them will bring the sunshine flooding back into my life.

It will keep me warm on the chilliest day

I will think of Musyoka, now a strong and confident young man as we shared memories of when he came to Happy House as a little boy. 

And of Evans who is so kind and firm with his Happy House brothers and sisters. He shows them respect and receives it in return. He came to Happy House as a little boy and now in secondary school he wants to be a social worker. What an excellent one he will be.

My Pendo, who I have sponsored since she was three, now an absolute beauty. Strong-willed, she knows her own mind, but is gentle and kind.
And how she loves to dance.

Natasha, Pendo and Morphin

There's Morphin, a nine year old powerhouse, intelligent, active and affectionate.

I've named a few. I could go on, if there were time, tell you about each of our Happy house kids, they all hold an equal place in my heart.
No two stories would be the same. Every child is very much his or her own person. 

They may live together, but they not institutionalised.

That they can develop into such strong characters, maintaining their individuality,is down to their Mama Sue. 
She wants her kids to grow up knowing their own minds and confident to speak up for themselves.
Her flock of lambs will never be sheep.
Our Happy House is, as I have said before, what it says on the gates. A HAPPY house.

And as those gates close behind me as I leave I can hear the voices and the laughter of our children.

Those sounds, and the love of our family, will sustain me until I go back again.

Thank you my dearest friends, Mama and Papa, for creating this wonderful family and for making me a part of it.

I will love you always.