More goodbyes

There have been more  goodbyes at the Happy House to great friends Chris and Kenny Goddard and Scott and Laura Webster.

Chris and Kenny, from Southend, have been involved in Sue's work ever since it began and Scott and Laura have also been helping for many years.

Kenny has been out and about with Dave enjoying a haggle in the marketplace when Dave does the weekly Happy House shop  and helping with fetching and carrying, while Chris (pictured)  has been giving a hand in the baby banda, enjoying helping Billy with the baby weigh-in!

Laura and Scott, from Royal Wootton Bassett,  have been busy too. Laura has been fantastic with the babies doing absolutely anything needed to help the mums.  To her great joy she was there when her sponsor child, Rose, took her very first solo steps this week.

Scott (pictured) has been really down to earth, enjoying helping the gardeners and sharing ideas on the best ways to get the the highest yield we can from out crops.

To have another helper whilst getting ready for the rains, when there is so much planting and preparation, has been invaluable to Dave and our gardeners.

Chris and Kenny and Scott and Laura are such a support to Sue in so many ways, and she and Dave are really going to miss having them around.

Safe journey and thank you so much.

Exam time

It's been a hard work for our Happy house kids as they have been sitting exams this week.

Everyone, even pupils in the baby class, have to sit the assessment tests set by the Government education department.

But with the encouragement and help of our excellent teachers in the nursery school, all the kids were looking forward to this testing time and there are plans to celebrate the results at weekly Kids' Club when all the family gets together.

After a very busy week, it's now thumbs up to the Easter holidays which start today.

We Miss you Auntie Libby

It was with  very heavy hearts that we said goodbye to Elizabeth ( Auntie Libby ) Gomm today. She really is an amazing person. Her support and advice has been a fantastic help over the past month. I know so many of you have thoroughly enjoyed her blog everyday. Personally, I will miss her terribly for so many reasons. 

 We all love you Auntie Libby PLEASE come back to us very soon.

 

Lots of love, Sue, Dave & The Happy House Family xxxx

Safety measures

Accidents happen in every home and with 55 children and 30 staff, Sue is not taking any chances, writes Elizabeth Gomm.

She asked volunteer nurses Julia Durham and Hayley Barber to prepare a simple first aid course to teach to all the staff.

And so with Laura and Scott Webster, Chris Goddard and myself on hand to look after things in the baby banda, the staff were, yesterday, organised into groups for the first of the courses.

For the outside staff, handyman Gibson translated to ensure that nothing was lost on those whose English is not as good.

Each of the first three groups who had their course yesterday understood and appreciated the potentially life-saving lessons, including baby CPR, choking, bleeding, burns, dehydration, fractures, falls and early warning signs of other problems.

Stanley Park, our empathy doll on loan from Doncaster College, was a useful model for bandaging etc!

Before they leave they will put together all the items they used in their demonstrations which will be kept in and easily accessible place.

We have, of course, always had first aid arrangements but having Julia and Hayley with us is a chance to ensure that everyone has a good idea of how to cope in an emergency.

Time to go

It's going to be a tough day for me today  as my month at the Happy House draws to a close.

I have had a real chance to help Sue, who is always so busy and who works so hard. 

It has been my pleasure to assist and it is a real joy and a privilege to be a part of such a special family and to know that they love me as much as I love them.

When I leave Kenya early tomorrow, the piece of my heart won by the children I saw living rough in bush on my first visit here, which now seems so long ago, will remain in the safe keeping of our Happy House kids and, I hope, it will not be too long before I come back to claim it!

Baby bus

It was all aboard the baby bus when yesterday Billy called for every pair of spare hands to pick up a Happy House baby to take them to Dr Joseph's baby clinic  for their pneumonia jabs.

He'd heard a whisper that the vaccine was running out and reluctant to miss the chance of protecting our precious little ones thought it better to get them all there at once rather than in separate journeys.

Luckily mums Monica and Prescha were both on duty as was auntie Marion,  nurses Julia Durham and Hayley Barber and sponsor Laura Webster were also helping in the baby banda,

I'd popped across from the office to ask something, but was more than happy to help - taking baby Harry as my little travel companion.

It was all aboard the matatu for the short trip to Timboni - everyone singing "The Wheels on the Bus" at the top of their voices.

Once there and parked up we were straight in. The temperature was sweltering and all of us melting.  One by one the babies had their jabs, each one protesting but only crying for a few seconds when the needle went in.

Job done,  a quick head count, and it was back on the bus this time with an extra passenger, Joseph's mother Grandma Yaa,  91, who we were taking back to Yaa Village.  A lovely, kind old lady she sat next to me immediately picked up little Stevie, who had joined me and Harry.

Stevie, named for her husband Grandpa Stephen Yaa, snuggled into next to the old lady and went fast asleep.

Once Grandma left us it was soon back to the Happy House where it was time for lunch - a welcome distraction after a an outing which was necessary but not enjoyable for our little people.

Movie stars

Movie stars

The kids rushed to greet us when we turned up at the Happy House yesterday afternoon, writes Elizabeth Gomm.

Those playing out stopped what they were doing to come and say hello and eagerly gathered together the others, some playing inside, others upstairs in the computer room, to watch a new dvd.

And I wish you could have seen their faces when they realised that it is they who are  the stars of this particular show.

Brenda, a friend of Sue and Dave's, had recorded their birthday show last week and brought us a copy. 

The kids were so excited to see themselves and their brothers and sisters, pointing at the screen or mimicking each other - in the nicest way.

Even the babies loved it (Pendo -pictured- couldn't take her eyes off it) solemnly watching every moment. 

When we left they were already on the third viewing and, I guess, that was far from the last!

So much to do

Just three days to go before I leave for home and there is still so much I had planned to do not yet done.

As Billy says of the Happy House "Life in paradise is never dull!"

You plan your day and then something unexpected crops up, needing immediate attention, and eats up your time.

Sue is the best organised person I know but I understand now why she sometimes finds it so hard to keep on top of the routine work - answering emails, writing a blog etc. With such a large family, 30 staff, the Happy House building and the nursery school to run, she has an incredibly busy schedule. She keeps a close eye on every one and everything, never losing sight of her main focus … her children.

If a child falls ill of has a problem of any kind Sue is hands on in trying to get the best treatment or solution. Like any mum   she is always there for her kids … and there are such a lot of them.

And everything takes time in Kenya. A simple task becomes frustratingly protracted to anyone used to the doing things at speed. 

Sue is a driving force and, thankfully, for the kids and all those of us who work with her, she never gives up. She is a dynamic and inspirational role model.

Helping hands

Student nurses Hayley Barber and Julia Durham have soon settled in to Happy House life.

The girls, in their final studies at University of Central Lancashire, are here for two weeks volunteering and have been helping our mums with the babies.

They will also be teaching staff basic first aid which will give them a better idea of how to cope in the event of those little accidents that happen in any family.

Hayley and Julia, from Blackpool, are delighted with what they have seen so far and are enjoying every minute with the kids.