Hearts of gold and charity night latest

Members of High Wycombe's Fab Friends network have hearts of gold.

At their most recent meeting they took along their unwanted items of gold which fellow member, Laurie Spicer of Gold Guys , bought up and the hostess fee of more than £70 is being donated to the Happy House. Fab Friends sponsor Maria and are always keen to help. A big thank you from all our family.

Charity night tickets - selling fast

Tickets are selling fast for our Happy House Charity Night and Third Birthday celebration at the Hotel Sheraton, Blackpool, on Saturday, March 16, from 7pm, so please be sure to get yours as soon as you can.

Tickets are £15 each and  are limited to 150 only .Once again, there will be a light buffet, dj, party games, tombola, raffle etc .. plus a few surprises! 
 Manager Simon, has made rooms available in the Lodge for the Saturday night at  £22 per person for bed and breakfast for those attending the charity night, for 2 nights in the main hotel the price will be £65 per person and will include dinner on the Friday night  To BOOK call:  01253 352723 quote reference:  BK38307. 

This year  Mama Sue is handling all the ticket sales and will be emailing your tickets, wherever possible, to save on costs so please email Mama - sue@childrenofwatamu.net for payment details or,if you prefer your tickets by post, send a cheque (made payable to Happy House Project) for the number you require, along with a stamped, self-addressed envelope for your tickets to be returned in, to: Mama Sue Hayward, 49 Victoria Mansions, 187-191, 
Newton Drive, Blackpool, FY3 8QG

Love from Italy

Generous Italian visitors brought so many gifts when they came to see our Happy House family. Patribia Pappaglio, Laura Malago,  Patrizia  Cascella and Darlo Volpie  received a warm welcome from our family and were show around by volunteer Layla Hamadi.

Their gifts, which included baked beans, toilet tissue, rice, pencils, pens, exercise books, soap, sweets and clothes will all be put to very good use as they are items that are in constant demand. 
Thank you so much Patribia, Laura, Patrizia and Darlo we are so grateful to you for your kindness.

Always in my life and in my heart

Whether a child in need, or an adult volunteer, the Happy House magic weaves its way into so many lives.
Volunteer Adriana Prieto,  a graduate from Mexico, is finding her own life transformed by our children.
She writes:
There is no better way to start the new year than to be surrounded by angels.

I say angels because it is the perfect word to describe the Happy House kids.
My name is Adriana, I am 23 years  old, and from Mexico. I am a volunteer.
I arrived in Africa with the illusion of helping Kenyan children, to give them everything I could and the support to have a better future, However, I was in for a surprise. It is the children, the Happy House kids, who give me more.

Rose and Neema

Linus

From the moment you arrive they are welcoming with big smiles, anxious to play with you. It has only been one month since I started sharing my days with them, and until now they have taught me more than I could have imagined.
These kids are a testimony that working through order, discipline, education and LOVE, this world can be a better place.

Mariam

I want to invite all the people that are reading this, wherever they may be, to open their eyes and to feel the love of these children.
Please make 2013 the year that you knock on the door of the Happy House and give them your support.
I want to thank Mama Sue, Papa Dave and all the family for letting me be be a part of your team.
 From now on the Happy House is a part of my life, and of my heart.

On the ball - by Fikiri

This week, and for the first time, Fikiri is taking over the kids' slot on the blog.
Firkiri tells you about some of his favourite things:

I am writing  this blog about play and learn and I hope you are fine and me too

 The Happy House we are very happy when we Skype our Mama Sue.

She ask:

Am like playing football and am I like to read?

I am liking to read books every Sunday and to play football every day.

Moses leaves us

This week the Happy House family is riding a rollercoaster of emotions as children both come and go.

The children's office on Thursday informed Uncle Billy that they had located Moses' mum and that in their opinion she was perfectly able to care for him and that and that they would take on supervision of her and her child.

The mother who disputed everything the old lady had reported  to the police and said that she had paid her daily to look after Moses, whose real name is Elvis, and the children's office had satisfied itself that this was correct and that the two women had had a disagreement..

Uncle Billy, concerned that the girl had given several different accounts of her own situation in the space of a few , tried his best to negotiate to keep Moses with our family for the time being until the full facts were established and she had sorted out her own life, but the children's office were adamant that she was able to look after and support her son and that they should be reunited.

When the mother arrived at the Happy House she had two letters of clearance from the children's office and Uncle Billy had no choice but to hand over Moses.

We have to work within the child protection system in place, however frustrating we may find it, and now we can only hope, and pray, that this little boy will be cared for and cherished as he should be.

But should he need us again, we are here ... a guaranteed safety net.

Cooking cash at St Aidan's

Thank you to all the lovely staff and pupils at St Aidan's CE Technology College, Preesall, Lancashire, for cooking up a storm for a cake sale to raise money for the Happy House.
 Delicious cake, cookies and other sweet treats brought in very good amount for our family. It;s just a good thing that  our Linus, the three year old sponsored by Mrs Joanne Rossall's Year 7 form,  wasn't about.

The first hint of cake and Linus is at the front of the queue ..and it takes a very brave person to get in the way of Linus and food!
Thank you to Mrs Rossall, her colleagues and students for making such wonderful effort.

Two small boys .. safe at last

Two small brothers in desperate need of care and protection are now in the safe and loving arms of our Happy House family.

Emmanuel, six, and Elijah, four, were no sooner in our family than our tailor Sifa was measuring  them up for school uniform putting normality and routine back into their tragic little lives.

Uncle Billy responded to the cry for help for these youngsters who were suffering at the hands of their own  teenage mother who is out of control because of substance abuse. 

The boys grandmother had been trying to care for them, and for her daughter, but could no longer manage because of her daughter's violent reaction towards the children she could not leave her alone with them, and so was unable to earn a living  herself selling secondhand clothes.

With no welfare system if a a breadwinner cannot work, they and their family cannot eat.

Wellwishers had been supporting the boys' education but were no longer able to so  and they  were deemed to be seriously at risk and we were asked to help and did so immediately to ensure these innocent and vulnerable children were safe from harm.

Uncle Billy said Emmanuel and Elijah are settling down very quickly and making friends with all the other kids who are delighted to have two new brothers.

He said their mum, 19, now has a chance to seek rehabilitation to give herself the opportunity of rebuilding her life while her own mother can also start working again to support herself.

Meanwhile, Emmanuel and Elijah will  grow, play and learn in a home and family where they can be certain that they will always be well cared for and well loved.