It's my special day!

Just look at this smile!
Erastus is celebrating his birthday this week and he's just beaming after receiving birthday gifts at Kidz Club.
He's one of four children in our family who are having birthdays this week and each one of them excitedly received their presents and greetings at our weekly family gathering.
And as each one was presented with their bag of gifts, their brothers and sisters sang birthday songs for them.
A very happy birthday to Erastus, Mercy Changawa, Melis and Hussien 

School Report: On top form

Janet takes part in a science quiz!

Top of the class!

In the recent district examinations, Happy House School led the field in Maths  taking top ranking out of 89 schools, and in science we were in third place.

This is a real achievement, as the benchmark for pupils in schools like our own, which is classed as a private school, is set higher than for pupils in Government schools.

Our lively, inter-active lessons, are led by enthusiastic teachers who have equally enthusiastic pupils.

Our children love learning, eager to soak up every bit of knowledge. 
 At 6.30 in the morning, our primary pupils are laughing and smiling as they walk to school, looking forward to the day ahead.

Here Mr Isaac, who teaches both primary maths and science, talks about the techniques he uses for teaching science:

Mr Isaac in class

For learners to perform well in a particular subject they should like the subject and have a positive attitude.

My aim is to inspire them to the importance of science and its relevance to their day to day lives.

They really enjoy learning topics including the human body, health education, plants, animals, environment, energy, making work easier, soil and water.

I use a practical approach towards each topic thus the learners grasp the knowledge and they don’t forget easily as they have learnt it practically.

My special thanks to Mama Sue for providing many facilities to motivate learning - computers, DVD ROMs, just to mention but a few.

Not forgetting the school garden where learners can learn more about plants, weeds,  and methods of controlling the weeds.

Another approach l have used is by dividing the classes into groups according to different abilities and during group work they learn from their peers and friends bringing up team work in performance as a whole.

I have confidence that they will shine not only in science but also in other subjects.

Will power rules!

Our great friend Will Gordon is putting himself to the test on Sunday when he takes part in the Leeds Half Marathon.
And helping our Happy House will be  his  motivation as he pounds 13 miles of city streets.
Will and his family have been supporting us since they first visited the Happy House way back in 2009.  At the time it was still under construction.

Will said:"I met Sue and Libby - two of the most inspiring ladies I have  ever met. The first day, I visited the Happy House, which was then being built, I agreed to sponsor and committed to helping with fundraising where I could.. 

" I believe that we can all make a difference however small."
Will, his wife Laura and children Luke and Georgia, returned for another visit in 2013 to meet all our family including their sponsor child, Musyoka.

Will, who raised £1000  for Happy House when he ran the half marathon in 2012, has well exceeded that this time as ihis current total is over £1700 in donations from friends, family, colleagues and neighbours in the generous village of Thorner, near Leeds.
Enormous thanks to Will for again going the extra mile, and to all those who are backing him and our family by sponsoring his effort.
Every penny raised will go to supporting and developing our work in improving the lives of children in need.
If you would like to support Will's half marathon fundraiser please go to https://www.justgiving.com/William-Gordon1

Coats of many colours

Rain is forecast for most of the week in Watamu, and so your parcels of raincoats - sent in response to our recent appeal - are arriving just in time.
With our children going back to school this week, after three weeks holiday, they'll need to cover-up for the walk to and from school.
And what a colourful picture they will make in the rainbow of colour cagoules you have so kindly donated.
Thank you to each and every one of you who responded, as usual, with such speed and generosity.

We came back happy, by Musyoka

Musyoka has told us on the blog before that he likes to go to church. This week church is the subject of his latest blog:

It  was on Tuesday when we were to go for kids club

We were sat waiting when Uncle Billy came and said:

Let us sing a happy song

We sang, and after that Uncle Billy said I am going to be the last one to say what I want to say. 

First he asked the teachesr if they had something to say, then the aunties.

It was now Uncle Billy's turn to say what he wanted

To say he wanted every one to go to church and to carry a small brother or a sister.

We said ok.

When it was Sunday it was time to go to church .

We all went and came back well and happy. 

Rainy start to visits

For last week of the holidays a number of our children have been on visits to relatives.
Keeping contact between a child and their relatives is a key part of our work and our caring social worker, Uncle Billy, assesses family situations before every "home" visit to ensure each child will be safe and looked after and cared for.
Relatives unable because of their circumstances to care for a child full-time may be.able to take them in for a few days and the kids enjoy going back to the villages or homesteads of their birth.
On Saturday morning, at 7.30am, relatives who had travelled through the rain, gathered at the Happy House ready to collect their youngsters.
"The rain didn't dampen the spirits!" says Uncle Billy.
The children will all be back home  at Happy House this weekend ready for the start of the new school term next week.

Make it happen - Mama did!

Make a difference, make it happen, make a pledge was the theme of a wonderful evening hosted by Network She at Doubletree Hilton Hotel, Chester, last night.

Aimed at showcasing the inspirational spirit of  the ladies business networking organisation and charitable foundation, our Mama Sue was invited as a key speaker.

Sue, who won a Network She Award in 2012, told of how a holiday in Kenya in 2000 had put her on the road which led, 10 years on to the opening of the Happy House.

Now it is home to 110 children and school to 130 more.

In 15 years of tireless devotion, dedication and determination, Sue showed how she was making a difference, making it happen and, every minute of every day, pledging her life to helping children in need.

Winners of the 2015 awards spoke of their own inspirational stories in business and in life, but it was our own Mama Sue who left those in the room speechless as they struggled with their emotions to hold back the tears.

The magic of our Happy House cast its spell once again winning us more lovely friends for our family - men and women who make a pledge and honour it and who will, we know,, help us to continue our work in saving and transforming young lives.

Our thanks to Network She founder Ruth Lloyd-Williams for inviting Mama, Papa and Elizabeth to be a part of this special evening, and for supporting all that we do and to the Network's foundation for the £400 they donated to our recent beds appeal.

And to all those people, who do amazing things themselves but who came to offer their friendship and help to our work, thank you.

All you can do is truly appreciated.

Pictures: Top: Elizabeth Gomm, Mama Sue, Papa Dave and Ruth Lloyd-Williams.

Above right: Mama Sue and Network She Foundation trustee Carolyn Hodrien.

Above left:Alissa Koopal, a 2015 Network She Award winner and founder of Izzy Melody.