Family,
home, love and education … Mama Sue and our Happy House are there for any child
in need, for as long as they need us.
This may be
for years, or just a matter of weeks, we never know.
Most of our
children have known relatives and Uncle Billy and Uncle Ronnie, our social
workers, work hard to keep in touch. Many relatives visit as often as they can.
So when
their fortunes take a turn for the better, it is right for a child to be
restored to their family and to continue their childhood with their parents or
other blood relatives.
Over the
last few weeks a number of children, some who have been with us since our
earliest days, have returned to live with their families. And each one has settled and is happy.
These are
new beginnings for each child, and a time of great joy and happiness for their
relatives who have worked hard to make this possible. A Christmas blessing indeed.
For Mama and
Papa it has been heart-wrenching to see chicks they have
nurtured and loved fly the nest.
But Mama
only ever acts in the best interest of a child. Her children are her driving
force, and she says she knows deep in her heart that this is the right
decision.
Our lovely, mischievous Linus who joined our family when he was
just 11 months old, has gone home to live with his mum and is back with his
sister Millie.
His mum’s life is vastly different from the time when,
newly widowed, she was in a desperate situation and had to put both her
youngest children in care. As soon as
she was in a position to support Millie she came for her, and has continued to
strive to get to a point where she could also be permanently reunited with her
little boy. This has always been her goal.
She now has a good job, lives in her own house and is
able to support and educate Linus. It is only right that he should grow up with
his own mum and family.
They are now
happily together again and living in Nairobi
Hassan and Maria, again some of the first in our family,
are now growing up with their aunt.
Their aunt, who they
have visited on home visits and who has always kept in touch, is now able to
take them into her home and family and to support and educate them.
They are happily
settled and enjoying life with their own family.
Dennis received regular visits from his mum
and his stepdad. They have moved to a new area, many miles away. This made
visits difficult and Dennis was keen to go with them.
He is now 18 and an adult
(we helped him through the application procedure for his identity card) and as
such cannot remain in childcare.
He is intelligent
enough to make his own decisions and this is what he has done.
His family’s new
situation means his step-father is in a good position to support his family
financially, and to ensure that Dennis can continue his education through
secondary school and has this is place.
Alex Kinyua is now joyfully reunited with his dad and restored back
into his family in Nanyuki.
Life now is very different for his father from the time Alex
came to us. He was in a desperate situation, having been left with a small
child raise on his own, which had led him into trouble.
He has now paid the price for this actions and has
rebuilt his life. He has a good and secure job, a home and support from his
sisters who really want to share in helping him to raise and educate Alex.
Lucinda’s family have, thankfully, become much
more involved in her life over the last year and she has now gone to live with
her two sisters, aged 13 and 10, at their grandparents home.
She has only ever wanted to be with her sisters.
Lucinda’s
grandparents kept her homecoming as a huge surprise for the younger children,
so it was a very joyful reunion indeed.
They are enrolling
her in a local school where she will take her Year 8 exam.
Lucinda has always
struggled with being apart from her sisters.
We have helped her to grow in confidence, raised her self-esteem and taught her
so many valuable skills. Now, with her
grandparents and hers sisters, she is just so happy.
The teenage mum who came to us when she was six months pregnant is now starting to rebuild her life with her mum.
They have
been happily reunited and she no longer needs the support of our Happy
House. Her baby, Nicolas, however will
remain within our loving family until such a time she wishes and is able to
look after him. He is continuing to thrive.
We have been
a shelter in a storm for this girl, but she needs to be with her mum who is now
in a position to support and care for her and to ensure her safety and
education.
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| Mama and Linus |
“I am finding it hard to let them go, it’s so
different without them. Linus was my little boy, always in my office after
school. I miss him, and all of them. So does Papa. Hassan was his buddy, always
by his side.
“We are going back to see them this week and
Papa is coming too so he can see how Hassan has settled.
“We have been bridge over troubled waters for these
children. They will always be Happy House kids and we will always be here for
them should they need us.
“The Happy House is for children in need, and we
cannot keep children here who no longer need our support and who have families
who are able, willing, and really want to look after them.
“These children are going out to their communities
strong, healthy and confident and with all the skills we have taught them.
“They have aspirations and ambitions and the
drive to achieve them.
“They will be real assets to their families and
to their communities, because of all they have learnt at Happy House. You have
helped to make this possible.
“If you have sent Christmas gifts, they will
receive them and their savings accounts will remain there for them, building
interest, until they are 18.
“There are so many changes, all at once, and
however difficult change can be I know, deep in my heart, that these are
changes for the good of the kids.”
