Our lovely lab, by Rita

Scholarship student, Rita, 15, is in Form One at Happy House Secondary School..

Her schooling would have ended at primary level, had she not been given a free place in our school.
Her mum, mother of eight, scrapes living burning charcoal and had no means of sending Rita, a bright girl so full of hope, to high school.
Science is key to Rita's hopes of being a  doctor. Today she writes about our science lab:
Our lab is built close to the Secondary School and it  is  the  most  wonderful  lab of any school in  our region.

It was built  using  blocks that are painted a white  colour. Also it  has several  glass windows to allow fresh air to circulate and there is a wooden  door.

Inside, there is a long  bench table for us to work at,with stools for us to sit on,

The table has cupboards where the aoparatus is kept . On the wall there are charts and posters witrh information that help us to learn. 

The lab also has a blackboard an a sink.

We have a very nice lab whiich gives us the best chance to learn and understand science and to do experiments

*We are desperatefor people to sponsor our scholarship stidents, like Rita.  £20 a month will provide all they need to succeed- including tuition, uniform, books, shoes, two meals and snacks. Please, can YOU give a child a chance?
Please email elizabethgomm@childrenofwatamu.net

Homework time with Papa

Most likely you can all remember those tricky times when you needed a bit of help with your homework.
And you were probably grateful to have a parent or a big brother or sister to give you a hand and enlighten you on the puzzling points.
So it was to Papa that little brian turned when he was struggling with his sums, and Papa Dave, ever patient and brilliant at maths, was just the man to show him how it's done.
Brian, who is a clever little boy who knows his tables from two to five,  soon had the right answers.
Uncle Billy is on hand at the end of school every day to check on homework and an extra pair of hands is helpful to him too.

Weighty responsibility

 Our dedicated social worker, Uncle Billy, shoulders the weighty responsibility of keeping a check on our children's health
And that means arranging a regular weight and height check to ensure they are developing as they should.
Meticulous records are kept of general development, health issues, medication, vaccinations etc.
It's part and parcel of family life and keeping the 80 children who live at home at the Happy House happy and thriving
Our pictures show Mr Steve assisting with the most recent weigh-in.

Let us know

If you sponsor a Happy House child and have changed your email or postal addresss, please let us know as soon as possible.
It is important that we keep our records up to date for both our Gift Aid claims to HMRC and, most importantly, so we can keep you update on the news of our children!
Drop an email to elizabethgomm@childrenofwatamu.net

Wheely good job

Mama Sue is as thrifty as they come and only spends where absolutely necessary.

Keeping our vehicles in tiptop condition is a constant battle as the appalling roads, the salt air and high humidity take their toll.

While she and Papa were in the UK two of our vehicles went in to be treated for rust and to be re-sprayed ( a fraction of the price it would cost here).

Mama thought it would be an opportunity to have them branded in the red and black uniform colours of our school.

Mark Booth, owner of Printwise, Poulton, and a very good friend to Mama, Papa since the very start of the charity very kindly gave her these lovely logo signs to complete the branding and the two cars look as good as new!

Mama says there is no mistaking them now and everyone is so impressed!

Thank you Mark and Printwise for being such special friends.

School Report: Testing times

 We are hurtling towards the end of term and that means one thing - exams!

After some intensive revision the nursery and primary section the primary exams started this week.

Secondary school students started their examinations at the end of last week.

All the pupils have been working hard, with the help of the teachers, and good results are expected according to the set targets.

Md Naomi

Education and responsibility

Scholarship students and their parents or guardians know that with a free place in our school comes responsibility.
Students must work hard, attend all lessons and keep themselves neat and tidy and look after the books, uniform and shoes that are provided.
The adults who care for them must ensure the kids comply, see they do their homework and encourage them to do their best.
New scholarship students and their and their carers were asked to a meeting when Mama Sue and Uncle Billy welcomed them into our family and were able to outline what is expected and to answer any questions they may have.
It was a happy, informative gathering, with very happy people grateful to Happy House for providing the highest standard of education and  for giving them a chance.

Keep us up to date

If you sponsor a Happy House child and have changed any of your details, without informing us, please let us know. 
For our records we need your name, email address, full postal address with postcode and telephone number.
If you Gift Aid your donations it is essential that we have this information, and that you inform us should you no longer pay sufficient tax to qualify for Gift Aid.
Please email elizabethgomm@childrenofwatamu.net with any changes to your details. Thank you.

It's a girl thing

Linda Markey (far right) and the team

 Sanitary protection for that "time of the month" are something girls and women in the developed world take for granted.

Not so for those living in the impoverished world. 

For our girls on free place scholarships to Happy House School, sanitary pads are beyond the family budget,

They are embarrassed by using makeshift pads or reusable pads fashioned from rags during their period.

 Who wants to wash their sanitary pads, specially when they don't have access of running water?

So we aim to empower our young women by providing them with disposable sanitary protection.

It lifts their spirits, their confidence and their aspirations.

Sanitary pads are  up at the top of the list of items visitors can bring to Happy House when they visit, along with deodorants and toothpaste.

We were extremely grateful to Linda Markey, who is in Priscilla's sponsor family, for a donation of sanitary pads from the community interest company she directs, UR Potential Blackpool.

A long-time youth worker, Linda heads up an amazing team who understand that for some people within our communities it is difficult to make that step into either volunteering, employment or further education.They provide support through establishing peer mentors, befriending groups and training to ensure that step is a pleasant and rewarding experience.

Andrew

And because her work involves raising the aspirations of girls and young women, Linda  has a real insight of how something as simple as sanitary pads can make a world of difference.

Linda and her team had a large quantity of sample packs, donated to them for an awareness event, left over and she very kind offered them to Happy House.

When Elizabeth Gomm went to collect the pads were in boxes with information and various product samples.

With the help of UR Potential volunteer Andrew Swift she separated all the pads for Happy House, with the tampons and other samples left to go to local women's charities.

Mama and Papa took as many of the pads as they could back with them, and more will be going out with Hailey and Debbie Aspinall who visit soon.

Huge thanks UR Potential from all our girls.

.