Welcome visitors

The Happy House family loves having visitors and Sue and her team are only too pleased to show them around, writes Elizabeth Gomm.

As they walk around they can soak up the atmosphere for themselves and see just how much of a family home it really is.

Now we have the nursery school to show them too and they are delighted with what they see - the bright classrooms with equally bright children!

Every inch of the place is loved and cared for. By the time we arrive at eight in the morning the sand around the building has been raked and dampened down, so not only does it look neat and tidy, the amount of dust blowing around is reduced significantly.

On Monday, three Austrian businessmen, visiting Kenya on holiday, and who came to the Happy house last autumn, returned with a mini-bus full of essential items for the storeroom.

They had called last week and asked for a list of the things we use, Rose forwarded them the weekly dry goods shopping list saying any of the items would be welcome…. we certainly didn't expect them to buy the lot and more besides.

There was a mountain of goods - nappies, baby milk, shoe polish, flour, beans, rice, sugar, soap , washing powder, Vaseline, cleaning products etc.

So a big Happy House thank you to Herbert Strauch, Friedrich Schwarz and Franz Macho (pictured) for your kindness to our family. Your gifts will significantly reduce our household bill this month and we are so grateful.

It will make this week's shopping list for Papa Dave (pictured with Oscar and some of the donated goods) so much shorter!

Today we have had more kind visitors, Piera Laura, her partner Oscar Zanin and their son Mattia, who is four. The family (pictured), from Italy, brought a suitcase full of gifts - clothes, toys etc. everything much needed ad very much appreciated. 

They loved what they saw at the Happy House and Mattia soon bonded with the children in nursery and enjoyed splashing the babies who were having a fun time in the paddling pools.

Oscar, who works in the IT industry, was particularly impressed with the nursery school's computer room.

Piera was in tears by the time she left, she was so moved by the love she could feel… it is, after all, love that is our very foundation.

!

Power problem

A power cut at the Happy House has been causing a real  and costly headache, writes Elizabeth Gomm.

Everyone here is quite used to being without electricity, many, many people live without it, but at the Happy House we are reliant on it to pump the water and to give us light, as well as running the fridges , freezers, office equipment etc.

So when it became clear that a this loss of power was far from run of the mill, Sue and her team were on the case straight away.

The secondhand generator refused to work (it's never been the same since it was recovered after being stolen) and was declared beyond repair. In temperatures way up in the 30s everything was in danger of meltdown.. The biggest worry was the potential health hazard of not being able to pump water, which meant the toilets couldn't be flushed.

Normally and emergency team from the power company would work to restore things to normal, but everyone is on strike and the offices locked up!

The meat in the freezers was thawing, so a massive cook-in on the open fire, gas stove and at Sue's home ensured as much as possible would be cooked and used.

Sue had no alternative but to order a new generator and her right-hand man Isaac negotiated a deal whereby a local firm loaned the Happy House a temporary generator until the new one arrived.

That happened , the new one is now installed, and everything is running smoothly - it just leaves Sue with another unexpected bill of £650!

Snails' race home

A big thank-you to Scott and Laura Webster of Wootton Bassett for organising a very successful snail racing night which raised more than £900 for the Happy House, and to all those who supported it.  Scott and Laura arrive in Watamu at the weekend.  We wish you a safe flight and are thrilled you are going to be with us for our first birthday party.

Goodbye Brenda and Red

Brenda and Red Groves leave Watamu today to go back home to Wantage. They arrived two weeks ago with so many things they had collected for our kids. They both do so much to support the Happy House and have been fantastic supporters of the charity almost since it began. We'll miss you both and hope it won't be too long before you come back to see us again.

Miles better

Baby Brian is now miles better after a very nasty bout of pneumonia and several days in hospital. He is now back with his brothers and sisters and his own smiley and playful self again. Thank you to everyone who sent him their love, prayers and more.

TRAILBLAZING TEACHING

It's top marks for the Happy House Nursery School. Still in its first term the four class school is all ready setting new standards for education.

It is attracting visiting teachers from other schools, keen to see the new teaching methods they have heard about.

There is no doubt that the Happy House children who moved from a local school into the nursery school when it opened in January have come on in leaps and bounds.

With a shorter day and plenty of breaks they are so much more alert and able to learn and westernised teaching methods, with emphasis on learning through play for the tinies, are bringing them on so fast in every area.

The classrooms are bright and airy, the walls covered with artwork by the children, and teachers are encouraging and firm, without being harshly disciplinarian.

They are discovering how children respond so positively to this way of doing things and its refreshing for them after working in other schools where teaching methods are still as they were in Britain in the 1950s.

The district education officer has visited and was astounded by what he saw. He could find no fault and was amazed that children as young as three were being taught computer skills. He didn't think it was possible.

"These children will not fit into any primary school, " he said, because of how advanced they are.

"Yes," sad Sue " they will."

I'm sure we don't need three guesses to tell us what is the next project on her agenda!

Fw: Never a dull moment

To say it has been a busy week is an understatement, writes Elizabeth Gomm.  It's been hectic!

Before we leave for the Happy House each day, Sue tells me some of things she would like me to do, but when we get there something unexpected will turn the agenda on its head.

On Thursday, for instance, it was an early morning trip to the clinic with  baby Harry. He come out in spots overnight and needed checking out.

Harry, our little Happy House miracle, has come so far. He's such a happy baby, always laughing and smiling and he has just the most delicious dimples.

I held him on the short drive to Nativo Clinic and almost as soon as the engine started Harry went to sleep. He didn't stir until we got back home – not even when the very nice doctor examined him.

It seems septic spots are a  common ailment here so now he has some antibiotic syrup to shift them and some cream to help them heal.

First on the planned agenda was emails and blog, but the power failed so that was an emails put on hold. 

The plans for the first anniversary party on Sunday, March 20, are now coming together. The children will be putting on a fashion show. The girls will be wearing some of those lovely party dresses so kindly given by YOU following our appeal earlier in the year, and the boys will all have something new from our store of donated clothes to model.

Brenda, visiting from Wantage, and a very good friend of Sue, Dave and the Happy House helped me go through boxes of shoes to try to pick out any little party numbers. Once we had sorted them, it was then like a chaotic scene from Cinderella while the kids' tried them on to see what fit whom!

They are all so looking forward to the party and their catwalk debut and the excitement is building.

The kids helping Papa Dave unload the weekly shop from the car thought it was hilarious when he joined in our informal catwalk rehearsal showing how it's done. I really DON'T think so, Dave.

Yeterday afternoon Sue asked who would like to walk round to Grandpa Yaa's with her to deliver an invitation to him and Grandma.  In no time all the kids were at her heels, the bigger ones picking up a baby on the way. We all trooped round like the Von Trapps singing and skipping all the way. Grandpa and Grandma were delighted to see the kids who all sat quietly on the floor of their house while Grandpa went round and greeted each of them. He and grandma Peninah will, of course, be guests of honour at the party.

Everyone is so relieved to have baby Brian home from hospital. He's been through such a lot in the last few days and been so brave. At Kids' Club he was awarded  Star of the Week for bravery... a well deserved award  which will be kept in his  his memory box. There was commendations for Aunties Violet and Marion who stayed with him in hospital and a big thank-you to Uncle Billy for moving heaven and earth to get him the very best treatment in the fastest possible time.

For a charity as small as this it is hard to budget for the unexpected and the bill for baby Brian's treatment is a typical example – it cost 11,000kshg (approx £100) and a huge amount in Kenyan terms.

 I know we'll all agree that it's money well spent – but now we must go the extra mile to raise a bit more ensure there is always plenty in the bank to meet cover both day-to-day and emergency costs of raising our wonderful family of remarkable kids.

Kids Club

It's taken since last Friday to find time to tell you about the Happy House Kids' Club, writes Elizabeth Gomm.

Sue started the club so the kids would have a chance to get together with everyone else in the family to talk about their week - highlighting both good and not-so-good performances.

Anyone who has something to say can give their views and,. believe me, these kids are more than happy to take the spotlight. They have soon got the hang of democracy at work!

Last Friday, it was decided to appoint two team captains - one for the girls and one for the boys. The children were asked to say who they would like them to be and Janet got the vote from the girls while Evans was chosen by the boys.

The idea is that all the girls or boys know who to go to if they have something they want to talk about - whether it's a bit of a niggle or an idea they would like to put forward. Evans and Janet were charged with getting their groups together sometime during the week so they could report back to kids' club this week.

I made some Star of the Week certificates which I brought with me and each week one child who has done something special in the previous seven days will get the award. The kids and staff have been asked to put forward names - and it could be any child, even one of the babies!

The first certificate was awarded to Ishindi (pictured) for his performance in nursery. When he came to the Happy House there were some worries that he may have special needs, but he has come on leaps and bounds , proving that he just needed to be in the right place with the right people.

Madam Rose the nursery head reported on the excellent performance of all the children in the first school exams. Some really were outstanding.  When she congratulated Oscar, just two points off full marks,  she told him not to be complacent and that if he was to stay ahead he was to pull up his socks. So he did just that, and about six others did the same! 

The kids were also congratulated for racing ahead to take leading places in the local inter-school sports. They now go forward to the next round against more schools.

We are so proud of them, but also conscious that our children do have an advantage. They go to school after a good night's sleep in a bed of their own, nourished with a good breakfast, and a daily boost of multi-vits. Most of the kids in local schools will have slept in cramped and uncomfortable conditions and then walked a long way to school on empty tummies.

How lucky our Happy house kids are now compared to the terrible circumstances they were enduring last year. Where would they have been now without the Happy House. Certainly, we know, there are many of them who would not have survived.

Birthdays during the week are marked at Kids Club, and this week it was the turn of Zawadi (pictured) who received a card and gift while everyone sang Happy Birthday.

Uncle Billy had a word about discipline and reminded the kids to look after all the people and things they have around them. Kids are kids and there is bound to be some naughtiness and high jinx but as always , in the Happy House way, it is dealt with in a pleasant, firm and positive way. The kids know when Uncle Billy means business.

The club, in its third week, is still getting on its stride but I'm sure it won't be long before Sue and her team discover which of the kids are destined for a career in politics!

*Watch this space for news of today's Kids' Club. And a very special mention of baby Brian, he's now home from hospital to the delight of the whole family and recovering well.

Baby blues for Brianj

Time flies at the Happy House and as social worker, Billy, says it is like beehive of activity.

It's has all the highs and lows of family life, multiplied by 56!

Yesterday, baby Brian was taken ill. He was very feverish and his breathing shallow. Just after nine Sue asked me if I would go with Billy to Malindi to take him to see the paediatrician who just happened to be doing her rounds at Malindi Hospital. On the journey there Brian's temperature was going up and up, I was trying to keep him cool but it's an impossible task in this heat.

His temperature was soaring by this time and his breathing worsened, he was limp and listless and Billy and I were both getting very worried indeed. He was first checked at the children's outpatients clinic, given paracetamol,  and we were then directed to the children's ward where there were dozens of parents and children queuing inside and out. Whole families appeared to be keeping vigil around the small patients in some of the beds.

It took a while but on Billy's insistence the paediatrician left her ward round to look at him and confirmed that he was very, very sick with pneumonia. She said that 99% of cases she was seeing were children with breathing difficulties brought on by the intense heat and dust. Brian, she said, had to be admitted as he needed both intravenous antibiotics and oxygen.

Again we waited, getting increasingly anxious, but the hospital is so under staffed and under resourced. Again on Billy's insistence, Brian jumped the queue.  A doctor tried in vain to find a vein in which to insert a cannula, Brian screaming with every attempt. It was a dreadful, but there was no alternative. He sent Billy out with a prescription to buy Ventolin for nebulizer, while I stayed with Brian. Our doctor called a senior doctor for assistance, he brought with him two young student doctors from Germany. They all did their best to keep Brian cheerful but, ill though he was, he put up a very good fight. 

Eventually the cannula was in place, and Billy arrived back, several chemists later, with the Ventolin.  By early afternoon,another wait alongside other parents with sick kids,  there was a free bed and we were given sheets to put on it. Billy opened one, badly stained, and decided immediately that he should be transferred to the nearby private hospital. Having seen several cats wander through the ward and doctors all sharing one stethescope, I must say I was relieved.

By this time Brian had been on the nebulizer and his temperature had subsided so were we confident that we could move him without putting him in danger.

Before we could go to the private hospital we had to call in at the private clinic of the paediatrician we had seen earlier so she could refer him. Again Billy got us to the front of the queue, she referred him and in no time we were at the second hospital. It was late afternoon by now, and while Brian had had plenty to drink, we had only had a small bottle of water each. Not knowing we would be so long I hadn't taken anything with me, no phone or money. Billy's phone battery was on the point of giving out.  We were shown to a four bed ward where he was given a bed. A nurse soon got a drip sorted and ,while Billy went out to wait for the Happy House mum coming to take over from us, I stayed with Brian. For a time I got him smiling and laughing, but he screamed and struggled when nurses put him on oxygen.

Billy arrived back with Sue and Dave who had brought the mum in to take over. How pleased little Brian was to see Mama Sue and Papa Dave.

It was well after 6.30pm by now and I while I had been so pleased to be able to help

our Happy House hero, I was ready to hand over to someone else.

This morning by the time Sue came downstairs she had called for a progress report and,thank God,he is getting better.  Another mum has gone to take over and will stay with him overnight and, hopefully, he will be coming back home tomorrow - to the delight of his Happy House brothers and sisters.

Karibu, Libby

I'm oh so  h-a-p-p-y to be back with the Happy House family and how things have changed since I was last here in the autumn, writes Elizabeth Gomm.

The children are all so settled,even the newest  arrivals, and they gave me just the best welcome (karibu) in the world.

Tired after a three hour delay and a long and uncomfortable flight,  their smiles were just the tonic I needed!

 The babies were resting on the banda when I arrived, sleeping beauties most of them, others, stirring from a nap, were bright as buttons and ready to play. Familiar little faces, Harry (pictured), Brian, Natasha, Sauma and Pendo, Brian,  Stevie , Charity and Linus have come on so l eaps and bounds– a testimony to that Happy House magic that works so well. The tiniest newbies David and Joseph are totally adorable, perfect in every way, and just so,so tiny.

I was eager to see the new nursery school – looking every inch as Sue said it would.  The classrooms as colourful, imaginative and lively as any good school  in the UK .

The teachers , handpicked by Sue, are what I expected – good at what they have been trained to do and open to the ideas and methods, new to Kenya, that Sue is introducing here. They are enjoying  a journey of discovery and appreciating that  children can learn through play.

The kids chorus,  "Libby, Libby, welcome, welcome"  as I walk from one classroom to another.  They run up to give me hugs and kisses and I know I am truly as much a part of their family as they are of mine.

Under the makuti roofed terrace some of the littles are taking a nap or just waking up, I sit down on one of the beds. Pendo, my truly scrumptuous sponsor child, jumps up  on to my lap and  snuggles in close. Her elder sister Lily starts plaiting my hair. Other kids join us and start singing songs for me – going through a repertoire of five or six, totally unprompted.

For me, these were  the most magical moments. To feel totally accepted  and loved by these children,  every one so special, makes me feel  humbled, priviliged and joyful. Now as they are singing, my heart sings too.

The kids are all looking so well. They  have grown so much and their skin glows.  Daily doses of vitamins (thanks to all those who responded to our appeal by donating multi-vits ) have ensured they are in the best of health.  Like Tigger, they bounce! Everyone has noticed the difference, specially cook, Alice, and  Isaac, who balances the books, as their appetites have doubled too!

We do still need vitamin syrup for the babies, so if anyone is coming out to visit, or who could post some,  a few bottles would be so appreciated. Ask your pharmacist to recommend what is best for under threes, and also for prem babies.

Inside the Happy House looks more than ever a family home and a year on that's what it is – home.

Mama Sue and Papa Dave head the family.  They are their kids and they are as protective, encouraging,  and loving as any good parents can be.  They have built a good team of people they can trust at the Happy House , people who share their mission – to give their children every opportunity to grow and flourish in a the happiest  of places, the Happy House.