Song for Sunday

Another Sunday, another song. We are so pleased that you are enjoying seeing ad hearing our children from Happy House as they sing for you each Sunday. They form their own little groups and chose what song they will sing.

Esther's ice cream treat

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In these times, when money is tighter than ever for our charity, treats are extra special for our children in our care at Happy House.

In this video we have, Mama Sue with Esther talking about an ice cream treat.

Esther did well in her exams and because of her hard work, her sponsors, Richard Lea, his wife and members of South Ribble Rotary Club some money for Esther so that she could have a treat with the rest of the family members.

Esther chose Ice cream and biscuits which everyone enjoyed. Thank you to our friends who think about our family, we really appreciate your kindness.

Raising crops at Happy House

Join Uncle Julius, one of our outdoor staff at Happy House, in the garden. He is checking on the small plots allocated to individual children who wanted to grow their own small crop. They prepared the ground, planted the seeds and have been caring for them ever since. In this video they are weeding. Once the crops are ready to harvest the vegetables will go to our kitchen where they will be used to help feed our family.

Sports view with Papa

Football is a passion for every child at Happy House whether they are playing or watching the game. And some of the younger children have been learning a bit more about it from Papa Dave who joined them to watch a game between Liverpool and Aston Villa. Leeds fan Papa is already looking forward to the start of the new Premier League season on September 12 when he is predicting a win for his team when they take on Liverpool.

Computer quiz

Our Happy House kids had their computer skills put to the test at the weekend. They took part in a quiz which aimed to challenge their minds and to assess their individual knowledge as Mr Nasri explains.

Lesson time

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Today, we are joining classes one and two  as they prepare to start a lesson with Madam Naomi.

The children are being home schooled at Happy House so Madam Naomi, their teacher,  is in school and and is joining them via Zoom.

As Mama Sue tells us, these youngsters have come on in leaps and bounds whilst being home school, with their imaginations fired by the methods we have introduced to use the full power of the internet to enhance their classes.

Their performance and their behaviour is better than ever - so it's a win, win, all round.

Song for Sunday

Sunday is a day to relax and recharge your batteries ready for the coming week. And to help you start your day with a smile some of our children from Happy House have a song for you.

Game of rounders

Our Happy House kids are very good at getting themselves organised. They love sport and soon get teams sorted out for any game. In this video Natasha tells us about their game of rounders.

Lesson in keyboard skills

Some of our younger children are getting an introduction to keyboard skills. At Happy House we know that having good computer skills will give our children a head start. Today our video shows Michael giving them a lesson.

Busy boys

Some of our older boys have been busy giving the wicker furniture in our round banda at Happy House a new look. As you know, they enjoy helping around their home and there are always volunteers for every job. So there was no hesitation when Mama Sue asked if anyone would like to do some painting. Here John tells us what they are up to.

Update from Mama Sue

Life is so busy for our amazing Mama Sue at Happy House - she rarely has time to stop and catch her breath.

The last few months have been even more hectic than usual with all 60 children at home since lockdown started in March, Covid19 controls to keep in place, home education to organise plus the already full-time job of running the Happy House.

Today she is bringing us right up to date on news from the family and talks a little about the effect that the pandemic is having on our community in Watamu, where almost everyone depends on tourism for a living.

Sausages and lollipops!

It is such a pleasure for sponsors to see their child doing well in school . Morphin, one of Auntie Libby's sponsor children, has done so well this term he has come second in his class in the exam results. He's struggled a bit in the past but increasing the use of the internet and technology in delivering lessons seem to be just what he needed to fire his imagination. Auntie Libz made a donation and asked Mama if Morphin could, please, choose a treat to have a Kidz Club to share with all the family. He chose sausages and lollipops! So on Saturday each child had a sausage snack followed by a lollipop ... a great choice, Morphin!

Fledgling Janet's new nest

The eldest of our Happy House children, Janet, has flown the nest and has a little studio of her own not far away.

It's within a few minutes walking distance, which is ideal as she will be working for us now - helping with our younger children as a trainee teacher.

Mama and Papa were there to help her as she moved in and members of our staff ensured that any small problems, including a leaky shower, were sorted out.

Janet joined our family in 2010, along with her two younger brothers Evans and Oscar, and has grown up in our care.

So having her Happy House Mama and Papa there to support her as they always have is really special for her. For Mama it was a very emotional day.

Evans who filmed this video says: Janet's studio is nice and it looks very smart. "She is happy to have it and although she lives out of the Happy House, she is still a Happy House kid because once a Happy House kid always a Happy House kid."

Song for Sunday

Six of our girls are joined by a trio of our boys for this week's Song for Sunday which we, at the Happy House, hope will brighten your day.

Clean sweep

We are always looking for ways to keep costs down at Happy House and even the kids in our care understand the need to be thrifty. After all, as a charity, everything we have is thanks to the kindness and support others. So in these strange times, when money is even more tight, the kids thought they'd help by making brooms for the house aunties and other members of the family when they are cleaning. Evans, who shot the video, says:"It is very nice that the kids understand how hard the situation is and they are really giving a hand where they can so that they can also save some shillings."

Garden gang

We have some real "professional" young gardeners at Happy House. Mama Sue gave them their own garden where they could grow food for our kitchen and they are showing themselves to be taking it very seriously. Evans, who made the video, says: "The kids really love gardening, after school, they all run to their small pieces of land to water their plants. This is nice for them and as you can see in this video how this boys are happy working in their little portions of land. Everyone was given the chance of choosing what they want to plant , some went for carrots, tomatoes, maize and many more other plants. "It is very nice for these kids to have this small responsibility and really it keeps them occupied because they are always working in their gardens" Here Saidi shows us the garden and and introduces Edward and Erick who are two other members of the club.

I love Man City!

All our Happy House kids love Premier League soccer and Husna has no doubt about which team she supports. It's Manchester City, just like our Mama Sue. Here Husna tells more about her top team.

No dust, no rust

We don't just take great care of our children at Happy House - we look after everything we have. After all, every item we own has come from the hard work of others - those who support our charity and the work of our amazing Mama Sue. We owe it to you to keep everything in top notch condition and to make it last as long as we can. Our vehicles are used on dusty roads and we try to keep them sparkling. No dust, no rust, as Uncle Saidi, one of our staff members, tells us in this video presented by his helper, Happy House kid, Morphin.

A very happy Mama

How lovely to see our Mama Sue looking so happy. And why? Because she's a Mama whose kids are doing her proud. Home schooling has brought them on in leaps and bounds. As Mama Sue looked for ways of educating them safely when the pandemic closed our school, she harnessed every bit of technology and applied imagination to how it could be used. The results speak for themselves! We will carry on with this for the remainder of the year (the Kenya Government is keeping all schools shut until January) and will take the methods we have piloted at home back into school when we reopen so that other children will benefit too. We will need more Smart TVs but are hopeful that, with your help, we will be able to buy them. some of you have donated towards the ones we have, and we are so grateful to you for that. These wonderful exam achievements are a result of teaching with technology and that is thanks to you!

A song for Sunday

Another Song on Sunday from some of our children at Happy House. Bringing you music which comes right from their hearts are: Greg,Brian, Morphin, Dulla, Khalid, Tumaini, Gift, Baraka Francis, Erick, Hussein, Baraka Kaingu and Lucky.