Happy House Nursery School

What a year ! I don't think any of us here at the Happy House will ever forget 2010. So much has happened but in the end we have achieved more than we expected to.

 

The Happy House Nursery School will be opening on the 3rd of January, so that is very exciting. Due to an unexpected anonymous donation we have been able to start the school much sooner than expected. Today the Happy House kids who will be attending the nursery went into the new classrooms to meet the teachers and see how everything is. The children are so happy to be in the new school.

 

Thank you to everyone who has supported our work with the children in oh so many ways.

 

May I wish everyone a very Happy & Healthy 2011

 

Love & best wishes,

 

Mama Sue, Papa Dave & The Happy House Family xxx

 

 

At Last Charity !

At last Charity has decided to walk! All our other little Happy House people have been walking for a while now but Charity was having none of it, then yesterday she just stood up and off she went. She still finds smiling  a bit of a trouble but she is getting there! She really is an individual, it is so lovely to see little personalities developing.

Happy House Nursery School

On Monday due to a very generous anonymous donation we will be opening the first classes of the Happy House Nursery School. We are busy arranging the furniture, buying text and record books, making sure we have everything ready for Monday morning.

 

Tomorrow we are having an open day for parents to come and have a look at what we have to offer. We are including computer and music lessons. We are providing all the learning materials, text books, pencils, colored pencils exercise books etc. I prefer to do it this way then we know each child will have everything they need in class.  Lunch will also be provided as it will be the only meal some of the children will get in a day.

 

It is a very exciting time, and I know we will make such a difference to the lives of so many children to have an education as we intend to provide. The next question always is, will you also be building a Primary School? As from January 2012 we will need at least Class 1. We feel that the standard of education that we intend to provide  in the Nursery there isn't another school in the area that the children can on to that is the same as we are with forward thinking. Here I am already in January 2012 and it is not 2011 until the end of this week.

Christmas Day

The Happy House Family had the most magical Christmas Day.  Santa arrived at 9 am with a sack full of presents. It was so wonderful as the children have never celebrated Christmas before. We sat them all down and asked them to listen for bells as that would be the sign that Santa was on his way. Lynn Mcclusky and Rose were Santa Little Helpers, as they walked through the court yard with the sack of presents ringing the bells with Santa following the children went mad!! He's here he's here, everyone was shouting !! It was lovely as presents were distributed, if clothes were received they had to be put on immediately, the little ones, Pendo mwende and Karembo received  fairy dresses bought by Lynn & Elizabeth Gomm for a pound each, the pleasure those dresses gave our little girls was worth a million pounds. As I was putting a dress on Mwende there was karembo and Pendo stood in their knickers waiting to be turned into a fairy princess! The children received beads, watches, hair bands, puzzles and much much more, everyone was delighted. Juice, biscuits, sweets and cake was passed around, then the dancing started. It never ceases to amaze me how everyone can dance. Some of our children have come home to us from the most remote areas where it has been impossible for them ever to see anyone disco dancing yet they can all do it! Lunch was turkey with pilau rice, followed by fresh fruit salad, delicious !

 

Today, some of the children are leaving us to go on home visits. Maybe to see  Grandma or auntie, in some cases to see a Mum who was physically and mentally unable to take care of her children. We do encourage the children and families to stay in contact with each other, our children need to know who and where they have come from, I feel this is very important. Billy is excellent, he always checks with the family first to see if the children can visit. He takes the children and makes sure the family can care for the children for 3 or in some cases 6 days. Billy will also go around during the week to make sure the children are alright and being looked after. It is an awful time for me personally, I worry so much about them. Are they being looked after, are they happy, are they getting washed properly and cleaning their teeth, as any Mum worries about her children when they are away from home. The first time some of the children went earlier in the year I said to Billy what if they don't want to come back. He looked at me and simply said 'They'll be back ' Sure enough when it was time to come 'home' to us everyone was excited to be back, eager to tell us the the stories from home. Some had been given chicken pilau by Grandma it was the highlight of their visit, yet they have it twice a week here. I think it meant how welcome they were, special guests! 19 children will remain with us for the rest of the holiday.

 

Tomorrow 3 new teachers will start work to prepare our new Nursery School for opening on the 3rd of January, it is a very exciting prospect. I want this school to be a flagship for Nursery education, as we have made the Happy House for how children should be cared for. The education system here can be very old fashioned and dated, when we interviewed the teachers we made sure they were flexible to different teaching methods. None of them have every taught in a school that has DVD's for education, computers, books, coloured pencils and paper. Yes, I can hear you say, but those are only the basics any school has. Not here I am afraid. Our Happy House Kids have learnt English so fast from watching DVD's, they have learnt to count by singing songs such as 1 2 3 4 5 Once I caught a fish alive. Songs never heard here before. Susan & Coral who have been such a fantastic help with the babies, setting up routines and encouraging the Mums and Aunties to play with the children, to play music and talk to them all the time. The children are so much brighter and happier, they are now going to work with the teachers to prepare the classrooms with posters  and lots of educational information. The furniture sent to us by Terry Burns and his organisation Furniture for Education has been arranged in the classrooms. Some of the tables have been cut down to be the right size for the different age groups. We have put machuti, ( Thatched roof ) over an area to make two outside learning areas. We are also building a large banda as an outside classroom. When we get the school financially stable I will then be able to move forward with my plan to bring  children in for free education. Children who have no chance of any education. I will explain more about that plan as we move forward with the School. Dave has been out and about putting posters in shops, restaurants, in hotel staff rooms to let the community know we will be opening soon. We have arranged an open day for Thursday so we can show parents what we have to offer by way of the best education for their children. Wish us luck!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Eve Show

Yesterday the Malindi Casino visited us with lots of goodies from a roast Turkey to cake and a present for each child. We also invited other friends to join us for our Christmas Show. It was a fantastic day. The children all looked fantastic, Preshca our head House Mum and really excelled in dressing the children, everyone had a new outfit for the party, with another one to wear today. All of the clothes are those that so many of you kindly donated, we now have the best dressed kids in East Africa!

 

The babies did their part of the show with great support from Susan and Coral, who have been here as volunteers for the past few weeks. The songs included Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, those who could help a wand with a star on top those who were too little Susan made them all a head band with a star on. They also rocked on the little horses shaking their rattles to She'll be Coming Round the Mountain. The older children sang Away in a Manager. Jingle Bells and Little Donkey. Not a dry eye in the house, Dave & I were the first !

 

After the show we had dancing and the children made sure every visitor joined in. It was a fantastic day.

 

Today Santa is coming to see the children, with two presents for each child, I know it will be another Happy, Happy House Day.

 

After Christmas Rose will put all the pictures onto our Happy House Facebook Page.

 

Thank you to everyone who has made the Happy House possible, it really is changing the lives of so many. The Happy House Family  wish each and everyone one of you a very merry Christmas and a Happy & Healthy New Year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to you all

A very great big thank you to everyone who has sent cards presents and good wishes to all of the Happy House Family as we celebrate our first Christmas together.

 

Billy, our Social Worker has read every card, letter and email to each individual child. They have shared your photographs and felt your love.

We have been so busy preparing for our first Christmas. The children have been rehearsing songs for our Christmas Show, decorating their Happy House, and saying hello to lots of visitors. Dave has been around all the shops we use regularly to ask if they would support the children at this time, the hardware shop gave us two fantastic foot pumps for the bicycles, Mama Lucy gave us food as did Giriama Residence. Lots of other donations of biscuits lollies and sweets have also been gratefully received.

 

Usually Billy contacts each person individually to say thank you from their own child for any item received. I hope everyone will understand that at this time of the year it has been so hectic with so many cards and presents I hope you will all understand if we say one BIG thank you from all the family to all of you for your kindness, love and generosity.

Warm hearts on a cold day!

Blackpool was covered in a blanket of snow and the thermometer had plunged to -8 on Saturday but the braveheart stallholders still turned out for the Chic and Unique Gift Fair at St John's Church, Church Street, Blackpool, writes Elizabeth Gomm

 RetroSpective, the organisers, offered all donations on the door to the Happy House and I spent the day rattling a bucket, helped by my son Rob. Baby Stevie's sponsor Hailey Aspinall ,her  sister Emma Fineman, and Andrea Manders ( who sponsors Natasha) and her daughter Ellena also gave along to give a hand for an hour or so during the day.  We also had a stall which did a brisk trade in chickens for the Happy House.

The door and stall sales raised  a total of £83.17 but it was about  more than money, as the event  gave us the chance to take the Happy House to a new audience and who knows where that could lead?

Thank you to everyone who supported us on the day and to RetroSpective for inviting us.

Christmas is a comin.'

We can't believe it is Christmas Eve on Friday. Lynn McClusky is here with us, helping us to get ready. I have promoted her to Decorations Manager. The children are so excited, they had 3 trees trimmed in around 15 minuets! No bad say they have never seen a Christmas tree before. For Mwende it was all a bit too much. When she woke up after one and half hours she wondered whatever had happened around her! 

 

On Friday Malindi Casino are coming to bring the children a packed lunch and a present for each child. The children have been rehearsing songs and dances so we will do our Christmas show. On Christmas morning Santa will be coming, with two presents for each child. The children have asked for Chicken Pilau for lunch, it is their favourite, a friend of ours is baking buns. In the afternoon we are having a disco in the outside banda that Limvardy Rotary Club kindly build for us. At teatime the children will be having lots of different things to eat, then we have some new Christmas DVD's to watch. I am sure we will have full up, danced out happy, Happy House Kids.

 

 

Festive flavour

Elizabeth Gomm helped by Hailey Aspinall, Jackie Fineman and friends will be taking a collection on the door at  the Chic and Unique Gift Fair at St John's Church, Church Street, Blackpool, today (December 18) from 11am-4pm .... snow permitting!

It is being staged by RetroSpective and organisers have kindly named the Happy House as its charity. We'll also be having a stall selling our Happy House "Gifts of Hope"  - presents that will go on giving  to the Happy House family, long after the tinsel has faded. You can buy the Happy House a chicken for just £1!

If you are in, or near, Blackpool today please pop in and say helllo!

Thanks you Terry Burns & Co.

At last the third container sent by Terry Burns and his organization Furniture for Education has arrived. The contents are just amazing, every item we need to furnish the new Nursery School which we will be opening in January. We had a very generous anonymous donation that was given specifically to build a nursery school. With the empty rooms we have and by building some more outside bandas we can run 10 classrooms. It is all very exciting. As we progress I will post pictures.

Happy Dancing Kids

I am trying to organise some sort of a treat for the children every Wednesday afternoon. Last Wednesday because everyone had been so good while I was away we had a pool party. The boys looked great all in their new trunks. Thanks to everyone who rallied to the call.

 

This Wednesday we asked a local restaurant if they would cook chips for the children, it was such a treat as we don't serve them here. It was great chips and a Fanta Orange. When the children had finished eating the owner put some music on, immediately all the children were all up dancing, as you can see the 'Country Boy' just had to join in. We have posted lots of pictures of the children dancing on our Face book page, Rose reliably informs me that is you log on to your own Facebook account and then type Happy House it will come up. Lots of your will see your own 'family' member having a good time.

Vital Vitmains

It was lovely to see everyone during our trip to England, but we were so pleased to get back 'home' to the children. We came to the Happy House direct from the airport the kids were shouting and waving, it was such a fantastic welcome. Thank you to everyone who made the charity night such a great success. With some of the money raised I have bought two much needed washing machines, they are just operational today but we can see what a big difference they are going to make to the working day and night.

 

Things seemed to have changed in just two weeks. Steve is now walking, but Charity is still having none of it! The children have started on the vitamins, so we are now looking for improvements in their general well being, such a skin hair and nails. The wall has grown, by today, two sides will be complete.

 

The work for the new Nursery School we intend to open upstairs in January is moving on well, and really coming together, I have just had a call to say the container that has been sent by Terry Burns and his organisation Furniture for Education should be here by 4pm today, but I have learnt not to hold by breath waiting

 

 

This  lunch time everyone is getting ready to go to a local restaurant that are going to cook chips for us all. The children are so excited it is the first time anyone has been in a restaurant. I wish post the pictures tomorrow

 

 

 

 

ALL KINDS OF EVERYTHING!

VINTAGE vultures, retro rooters and clever shoppers looking for something contemporary and handcrafted all  have a festive treat in store at an indoor market taking place in Blackpool town centre on Saturday, December 18, and the Happy House will be cashing in on the action!

Staged by RetroSpective,  the daytime event  Contradiction - Contemporary and Traditional  at St John's Church , Cedar Square, Blackpool,  from 11am-4pm, is  a spin-off from the highly successful series Indie market, unique gift and local artist fair evenings  which are becoming a regular attraction at local bar Scrooges.

It  will feature all sorts of everything from new to old including indie designers, hand-crafted goods, shabby chic, recycled, vintage, retro, collectibles,  fashion, jewellery, toy and games, local artist and craftspeople and cupcakes! The fair organisers have asked Children of Watamu to be their charity partner and all the donations collected on the door will be given to the Happy House project . They are also giving us a free stall where we can sell bits and bobs, including our Happy House Happiness Kits made by Kathryn Pidcock and friends and Christmas gift certificates, plus  dishing out promotional material. It's a welcome chance to get our message to a new audience.

Co-organiser Gary Palmer said: "We were looking for a charity to support and were incredibly impressed by the work being done by  Sue  Hayward and  the charity in Kenya."

For stall enquiries call Gary 07832166914 or Lisa 07854468590  or visit the website: http://www.wix.com/rsevents/retrospective

Karibuni nyumbani, Sue and Dave!

All of us in the UK are sorry to see Sue and Dave leave to go back "home" to the Happy House family and can only imagine how excited the kids will be to see them after their two week safari to the frozen lands we are experiencing, writes Elizabeth Gomm.

Sue and Dave were thrilled to see everyone here but, I know, they were itching to be back even though they had to negotiate the airport with a mountain of baggage stuffed full of goodies and necessities for the children.

They were going straight to the Happy House from the airport this morning  and, no doubt, the whole family will be waiting on the steps to greet them. Two weeks has seemed like forever to the little ones who love their Mama Sue and Papa Dave so much!

Just a reminder to anyone who is planning to visit Watamu anytime in the next year, we have loads of multi-vitamins to get out to the kids.  If you can take some, even if only a couple of packs, please contact me  (elizabethgomm@childrenofwatamu.net) and I'll get them to you.

Happy House in print

We now have prints for sale of the wonderful picture  which takes pride of place in Happy House.

Anyone who sees the  painting of  children silhoutted against an African sunset, and who knows our kids, can pick out individual children .. even though it wasn't painted of them intentionally,  it is definitely them, so much so that this picture could only ever have been destined for a Happy House home.

It was my pleasure to buy it for the Happy House, writes Elizabeth Gomm, when I was there in October. I knew Sue had seen it outside the artist's studio and loved it. I loved it, too, the minute I saw it, going  "Oh that's John, there's Mwende, look at Oscar "... just as Sue had done!

I had been given some money by kind friends when I left my job at the Blackpool Gazette  and added to it to make up the total.

Now we have A4 size prints available at £5 (plus £1 p&p) available for sale with every penny going to the Happy House. To get your copy send a cheque made out to The Happy House Project, alongw ith your name and address, to Elizabeth Gomm, 6 Burwood Drive, Blackpool, FY3 8NS.

Treat yourself, or a friend, to a little piece of the Happy House for your home.

Racing results!

How special the charity race night turned out to be with so many of our friends and sponsors taking time out to travel to Blackpool to help raise money for the Happy House and , most of all,  to see Sue and Dave, writes Elizabeth Gomm.

Sue spoke about all the wonderful work the Happy House is doing now and of her plans for the future - the nursery school, due to open in January, which once it is self-supporting will  give her the opportunity to give free places to some of the neediest children in the community.

These children ,lacking even the most basic of social skills, toilet training, will start lessons in the outside bandas and once they have grasped the essential nursery skills will move up into an indoor class. Sue is hoping to become part of a Government food programme which will enable her to provide both lessons and lunch free to these kids, who now have no guarantee of either.  It will also equip these kids with the skills to make something of their lives in future and to become useful and valued members of their community.

Sue was thrilled to bits to meets so many sponsors who were all so eager to know how "their" child is getting on, it was  just as if they were talking about their own children or grandchildren.

This was the evidence , if we need any, that in the Happy House Sue has created a family  that extends far beyond Watamu,  with "relatives" worldwide!

Sue did her very best to get round to talk to everyone and is so sorry if she missed anyone. Dave, too, was in demand all night as he and Sue really are the Papa and Mama of the family!

Sue (barred ,by her very caring staff, from a laptop until she goes home to the Happy House because they want her to have a rest)   wants to say the biggest thank you to everyone who came to the charity night,  and to those who who brought gifts for their kids, and donations to the charity - Terry Burns , who founded the charity Furniture for Education brought along a cheque for £1,500; Scott and Laura Webster brought proceeds from fundraisers as did Lesley Pidcock, Andrea Carter, Lynn McCluskey and others.

Sally Wilkinson, who sponsors Evans, made a donation instead of sending Christmas cards to her friends this year.

There was a great buzz to the evening with the tombola, raffles, Lynn's Lucky Loot, name the dog, and the racing.

We were kept busy with sales of  certificates donating chickens, turkeys, coconut palms, banana trees, sacks of flour or rice and new arrival packs for baby girl or boy. The idea is that you buy one of these in the name of a friend for Christmas and get a certificate to send to them. If anyone is interested just email elizabethgomm@childrenofwatamu.net   We also have copies of our Happy House painting -  children silhouetted against an African sunset - for sale at £5 each, again details from me.   Happy House Happiness Kits , made by Lesley Pidock, her daughter Kathryn and friends, were also selling like hot cakes.

It was such a busy night and such a happy one, everyone was enjoying themselves, and the time just flew by.  The good news is that it was a huge financial success too - raising a total of £11,500 - including donations and sponsorships  made on the night, and the matched donation of £3,500 from Santander Bank.

Sue says: " Thank you  all so much for making it such wonderful  night.  You are all so kind and  so generous towards our kids we know how much you love them all and that really does mean the world to us.

" Dave and I were so thrilled to meet up with old friends and the new ones who who have only "spoken" to by email. Now we can put faces to names when we are telling your sponsor kids about you.

"What lucky people we are to have friends like you!"

On English soil

Our Sue, one of Lancashire's leading ladies, is back in Red Rose country and has been catching up with friends, enjoying a little retail therapy and organising the finishing touches for the charity night on Friday.

It's lovely to have Sue and Dave back with us, writes Elizabeth Gomm, but I'm deliberately not using the word "home". We all know where their hearts lie now .. and , yes, Happy House family  they are missing you every bit as much as we know you are missing them.

Sue tells me you were only really letting her some for one day, but I know how much she wants you to share so we  are sure you won't mind if we borrow her for just a little bit longer than that.

The Happy House management team confiscated her laptop to guarantee that she would get the rest she so deserves, which is why I'm writing this instead of her.

Sue and Dave are so looking forward to meeting up with old friends and new ones at the charity night on Friday. It's going to be a really busy night but lots of fun too, and there is so much news from the Happy House to tell you all.

Yesterday, Sue joined Lynn McCluskey  and  I  at our  Watamu Girls' Club "office",  Parks, the Art Deco Cafe in Blackpool Stanley Park, where we hold all our Happy House think-tanks. The HQ is drinking coffee al fresco on a warm day, but this time of year it's a bowl of soup indoors!

It was lovely to have Sue there with us and we had so much to talk about! We really miss her when she's not here, and the Happy House when we are not there!

Sue and Dave are staying in Blackpool until Sunday when they willl be heading south to stay with more friends and for meetings in London before heading back HOME  next weekend.

Their stay is  not long enough for us, but  for the Happy House kids every minute  Mama Sue and Papa Dave are away is, we know,  a minute too long!

Fw: Silence is GOLDEN!

Entry level childcare students at Doncaster College in Yorkshire really did turn silence into gold for our Happy House kids.

Friends, family and colleagues happily parted with their hard-earned cash in exchange for a little peace and quiet!

The college's support for us, writes Elizabeth Gomm,  has come following a visit from the course leader, Lesley Pidcock, who fell in love with our ever-growing family ( can't we all hear Sue getting back from the UK and asking: "How many is it now, Billy?")  when she visited with her husband, Alan, and daughter, Kathryn, whilst on holiday last summer.

They spent as much time as they could with the kids and sponsor baby Natasha and one of our older girls Janet, who is now firm friends with Kathryn.

Lesley has since become a really active supporter, spreading the Happy House word and organising fundraising events.

She is hoping this week's sponsored silence will bring in £250 which she will be bringing, along with other money she has raised, to donate at the charity night on Friday.

Well done to everyone at Doncaster College and a big, big  THANK YOU from everyone in the Happy House family!

Cold day, warm hearts!

It was such a cold day yesterday, but there was a warm welcome, and some very warm hearts, to greet me when I went to talk about the Happy House to a ladies group at Elswick United Reformed Church, writes Elizabeth Gomm.

I'm still a bit nervous about giving talks but they were so kind I felt at home straight away, and they started their meeting with a hymn and prayer,which included a special mention for everyone at the Happy House and all those who help it other ways.

They were so interested in the inspiring story of Sue's work and loved all the photographs of our Happy House family and wanted to know all about our children.

At the end of my talk they made a donation of £120 which they had raised at coffee mornings and that plus a donation from one of the members and the proceeds of a bring and buy brought the total up to £180.

It was a really enjoyable afternoon for me and I'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone there for making me so welcome and for their very generous donation.

A special thank you, too, to the one man , a special guest at the meeting, Mr Jimmy Preston, who led the hymn singing with his splendid voice!

WONDER WALL

This is the way we build a wall .... quickly!

Work is steaming ahead on building a wall to enclose the Happy House grounds and keep our family ever safer. It is thanks very kind new friend and supporter, who prefers to remain anonymous, who donated £6,000 as soon as she heard that we needed to replace the wire fence, writes Elizabeth Gomm

The increase in crime in the area, much of it violent, has been worrying Sue and Dave who felt the Happy House may be vulnerable and were anxious to make sure their family was a safe as it could be.

Our new friend and her family  live in the UK but have a holiday home in Watamu and have visited there many times.

She hasn't visited the Happy House yet but heard about Sue's work through a friend and wanted to know more about it ... and was bowled over by what she saw on the website and contacted me in the UK to see how they could help. As soon as I told her about the need for a wall she promised to send a cheque.

She said that she and her family  were making their donation because of their admiration for the work of Sue and her team and because of their own love for the local people who she describes as gentle and resilient in the face of poverty, unimaginable to all except those who have seen it for themselves.

"The children in Watamu touch your heart, they are fun, they are kind and they need help," she says.

She stresses that her  family's support for the Happy House will be ongoing and appeals to others, in a position to help, to look globally, beyond their own needs and effects of the recession, and to do what they can address real hardship in the underdeveloped countries of the world, like Kenya.

The Happy House struck a chord with her because of the excellence of the child care it gives, in a true family environment, where every child is loved and respected as an individual.

Her family's generosity is a godsend. It came just as Sue and I were working together to launch a buy-a-brick appeal to build a wall, which may have taken many months to reach its target.

Sue says: "It is just so generous, totally out of the blue, and exactly when we needed it.

"We are so grateful and looking forward to meeting these wonderfully kind people.

"Knowing our family are as secure as we can make them is our top priority. We are here to keep children safe in every single way. Now we will be safe as houses at the Happy House."

The wall, around our 4 acre site, is now well on the way. In just a week, the sand and blocks arrived and the bricklaying has started... with women doing all the labouring! 

Sue adds: "Everyone is enjoying watching the way our wall goes up and singing ... "This is the way we build a wall, build a wall!"

"Thank you so, so, much for making it possible."

 

How Many are we now Billy?

On Friday we had a call from Nancy the Children's Officer to say she was on her way with a little girl of 18 months called Neema. As the conversation went on we realized it was the baby sister to Margaret who came to us a few months  ago very badly burnt from trying to make porridge for her baby sister on an open fire. Margaret was taken to the Children's office as her Mum had died and her Dad had disappeared leaving the children to fend for themselves. Neema was taken to Grandma. The old lady is now unable to cope and when she went to the Children's Office Nancy knew we would want the sisters together.

 

Today we took Neema to the Doctor as she is having trouble passing water. We discovered she has a severe water infection, but now we have the right treatment we can weave the Happy House Magic and make Neema as happy as her 'brothers and sisters'

 

Sue, Yes Billy. It's 46 .

Double Delight

 

Our beautiful twins Pendo and Saumu, received a present by post from one of their 'family' members Sandra Foulkes, who is also a twin. The girls were delighted to be given the brightly coloured bags and to find lovely presents for them inside. They were very happy to model their new clothes for Rose, and later really enjoyed looking at their new books. The twins seem to be developing a chit chat that only they can understand, they toddle around chatting to each other and laughing.

She really is and Angel

An Angelic card reading evening held by Lynn McCluskey and friends proved to be a wonderful night indeed, raising a divine £450 for the Happy House Kids. Lynn and 5 of her friends who also read angel cards offered taster 15 min readings. Over 50 people had their cards read through out the night. The evening proved so popular the owner of the venue where the event was held The Grape Vine in Poulton -Le - Fylde asked when the next one was going to be and could it be soon please ! Watch this space ….

Lynn set herself a challenge at the beginning of the year to raise £500 in her first fundraising event by swimming a mile. She was really happy to beat that target and raised £650 instead. Spurred on by the wonderful support she received by family and friends, plus seeing first hand how the money raised was being used to transform the children's lives, when she volunteered at the Happy House in Feb, she secretly challenged herself to raise £2,000 by the end of the year. With her latest Angel evening Lynn is absolutely thrilled to have finally achieved that goal she set herself in Feb, raising a total of £2,099.70

Lynn said " I could never have raised this wonderful amount of money, if it wasn't for the amazing support of my family and friends and everybody who has attended the events I've hosted. It's only their kindness and generosity that enabled me to achieve my goal. So to everyone of you a GREAT BIG thank you."

Thank you Lynn from the Happy House Family, it is because of people such as your self that makes our work for the children possible. XX

 

What a lot we got!

Our Happy House kids will be bouncing with health thanks to a Blackpool shop, writes Elizabeth Gomm.

Kathy Goodlad, proprietor of health store Bowland and Harret, Topping Street, who is in the sponsor families of David and Rukia,  took Sue's appeal for multi-vitamins to heart and phoned around her suppliers to see if they would help.

And their response has been magnificent.  As you can see, Kathy now has hundreds of packs of children's vitamins ready and waiting to go out to our kids.

So we are asking anyone who is planning a visit to the Happy House in the next year to take as many as they can with them. We will have a collection point at the charity night on November 14, so you can pick some up then, otherwise you can contact me by emailing elizabethgomm@childrenofwatamu.net

Most of the children who come home to the Happy House have medical problems and have been exisiting on very little nourishing food. Sue is finding that vitamins really give them a boost and would like them all to have a daily dose.

Earlier this year when Sue was told my little sponsor child Pendo (pictured) had a mild case of rickets I got the right vitamins for her, and now she has been given a clean bill of health.

Being able to help her have a strong skeleton, thus preventing all the problems that go with weak bones, is one of the best things I have ever done.

So a huge thank you to Kathy, who is also collecting in prizes for the charity night,  and her kindhearted suppliers for their very generous donations.

What a difference

On the 29th of October I posted an article about 6 children that we had been called to help. Look at this picture after just a few days they are Happy House Kids smiling happy, clean, and most of all safe. The Children's Officer visited again on Friday and was amazed how the Happy House Magic had transformed the children. The day the children came home to us I went to see Ruth who owns a beauty salon in Watamu, as she is expert at pedicure, I asked the best way to deal with the children's feet. Ruth immediately offered to come and help, within 15 minuets she was at the Happy House with everything needed to deal with the very badly infected little feet.  All their feet are now free from jiggers so they can run about, ride the bicycle,s and play football with their new brothers and sisters. When we see such a difference in children in such a short space of time it really does warm our hearts.

Thank you Dawn

All our beautiful bright curtains at the Happy House were donated by Dawn & Bob from Swatchbox Curtains in Blackpool. Bob & Dawn visited us here at the Happy House earlier in the year. Dawn has been following the blog and saw the article regarding opening bank accounts for all our children, she thought it was such a good idea that she has donated 5 pounds to each child's account. Thank you Dawn for  getting everyone off to a good start.

And now we are 45

On Saturday two boys came to the gate of the Happy House to ask if they could come in, they were in a terrible state both physically and mentally. The boys were crying begging Billy to let them stay. Billy talked to them and said he would deal with things in the correct way. On Monday we received a call from the headmaster of the school they have been attending for just 2 weeks to tell us about the same children. He said there was 4 of them all in the same local children's home. We called the Children's officer from Malindi to come with us as they have the authority to take children into care. As soon as we saw the children at the school the officer decided that due to the condition of the children it was impossible to send them back to where they had been staying, that was before we had even visited the place. We immediately said we would bring them home. When we arrived at the so called 'home' there was another 2 children there. 2 little girls aged 8 who had not been attending school. The conditions were so bad I am not even going to describe them. Three of the children had terrible jiggers in their feet, the little black worms that burrow under toe nails and into the flesh on the feet. We immediately soaked their feet in solution of peroxide and water and the next day a friend of mine who runs a beauty salon came with items needed to remove the dreaded jiggers. In just two days the Happy House magic is working on the children. They are smiling, which is always a good sign, they are mixing well with their new brothers and sisters, eating and sleeping. On Monday they will go back to school a lot happier and healthier than they were last time the headmaster saw them.