Back to school next week, our kids will have a head start
because of the effort they have put in to brush up on their tables in the
holidays.
Mama believes that multiplication tables are a basic
foundation for the future and places a great emphasis on ensuring that they are
taught in as early as possible.
And knowing practice makes perfect, kids, teachers and
volunteers work together to help the kids brush up on their skills – making it
fun at the same time.
There has been a bumper harvest of oranges at Happy
House.
Since our garden is only in its seventh year of
cultivation, having been scrubland for centuries on a foundation of coral, our growing brings some good
results.
And with picking the oranges and Kidz Club coming on the same day,
Mama distributed to them children.
Sweet and juicy, they went down a treat and have the added bonus of giving them a vitamin C boost!
There was a personal delivery for Baraka Francis when Lesley Pidcock brought him some gifts from a friend and neighbour, Kay Summers, who is in his sponsor family. Baraka was thrilled with his trainers and the games she sent which he will share with his Happy House brothers. She also sent some other lovely things for the family including some very trendy headbands for the girls, which they absolutely love. Thank you Kay for making Baraka's day and for your kindness to our family.
A bear called Hamley has joined our family. He was brought along by his cousin Barnaby who is the infant class bear in a school in Taif, Saudi Arabia. They hitched a ride with Lesley Pidcock, who is a teaching assistant in Taif, and her husband Alan when they were coming to Happy House. Barnaby can only talk to adults and he is always on the look out for children who behave well, use their polite words and do good work. When they don't he gets sad. When they do he might ask them to give him a hug, If a child is sad, he can listen and help to make them feel better. Barnaby has a friend called Hamley who needed a school where he could be the special bear, so he brought him along to Happy House. He's heard Auntie Lesley, who has been volunteering, say our playgroup and KG didn't have a school bear. Auntie Lesley introduced them both to the Happy House family and told them all about the bears and their special powers, which were illustrated when Freddie, her helper, took them round to talk to our teachers. Hamley told Mr Isaac, our head teacher, he was very happy to come to Happy House, he told Md Sarah, playgroup teacher, that he's like to sing Twinkle Twinkle and Md Elizabeth, who is teaches in our secondary school, was thrilled to bits when said he'd to join her class. We think he may have been kidding on that one, Md Elizabeth! Hamley is staying at Happy House school now Barnaby, has gone back to his school in Saudi so Auntie Lesley can help him to tell his own class about his travels to Kenya. Hamley is a very welcome addition to our family and even has his own Happy House shirt made by Lesley.
This will be a quiet week at Happy House. As it is the last week of the Easter holidays, children who have relatives in a position to take them on a home visit have now gone home. They left on Saturday, eager and excited. Relatives came to collect them bright and early in most cases. Three children got a lift from Noah, our driver, who was going to Mombasa on an errand was able to drop off John. Daudi and Diana on his way. Maintaining links between children in our care and relatives is so important and Mama's pro-active approach has enabled Happy House to repatriate, by providing continued support, kids, previously in our family full-time, to relatives who have got back on their feet after the tragedy or extreme circumstances that led to their young relatives going into care. Pictured are Baraka with his older brother; Hussein and Husna with their grandmother and John, Daudi and Diana.
We can never have too many cooks in our kitchen as the kids are so eager to learn and help.
Today's blogger, Jedida, loves cooking:
In the kitchen we have two aunties. The
aunties always cook for us different meals which we like. Most of the fresh vegetables they cook come from the garden.
The aunties are very helpful to us in
different ways such as giving us advice in case we need it.
In the kitchen, we
normally use the oven to bake bread or cakes. The bread and cakes are very delicious because the aunties are very good at doing it.
I like helping in the kitchen because it
teaches me how to cook different things such as pizza, rice, ugali and soup.
Right
now I have learnt a lot from the aunties and I am able to cook some of
these meals.
I keep on helping so that I can learn more. The more I help the
more I learn about new things in the kitchen.
When you look at the Happy House kitchen,
it is always clean and tidy. This is because the aunties always make sure they have cleaned it well after cooking.
The utensils are also very
clean because after every meal they are cleaned and kept ready for another
meal.
Helping in the kitchen is one of my best
hobbies because being there and helping the aunties is enjoyable and
interesting.
A special kids club earlier in the week, a trip to the beach and hot-dogs for lunch all added up to a a splendid send-off for Lesley and Alan Pidcock who set off back to Saudi today,
There was cake at Kidz Club on Tuesday, with songs and good wishes, and yesterday they enjoyed a trip to the beach, a splash in the sea followed by the walk home and hot-dogs apple bobbing, ice cream and more fun and games.
Lesley and Alan very kindly paid for the treats for the family.
They have both enjoyed helping at Happy House and Auntie Lesley has bee sharing her skills as an early years childcare teacher (she taught at Doncaster College before retiring and moving to Taif) with our own teachers.
Mr Isaac, headteacher, thanked her for all valuable contribution.
Alan complimented the school on being a caring and happy environment and told them they should all be proud.
The couple, who with the support of friends, raised £5000 for Happy House, were good friends before they arrived and have sponsored since their first visit in 2010 shortly after we opened.
It's been wonderful to see them again and we are grateful to them for all they have done.
Safe journey back home, hold the Happy House in your hearts, and come back again soon.
Lesley said:"What an amazing last day!
"A trip to the beach with the children, fun and laughter all the way there, when at the beach and on the way home. "
With their first term in Form 2 now behind them, Mama has been having a get together with our secondary school's oldest students.
Having reviewed their exam results with each of them individually she and headteacher, Mr Isaac, a wanted a chance to hear from them as a group.
They have three more years in secondary school in front of them, and they understand the importance of helping and mentoring each other. with their studies which get ever harder.
Having a scholarship to Happy House school comes with responsibilities to those who support them, to each other and to themselves.
Mama's group sessions, with students and their teachers, keeps the young people focused and are a real demonstration of the way she cares about their personal development.
Emmanuel, the youngest member of our family, is thriving and revelling in the endless attention from all his Happy House brothers and sisters while they are on school holidays! Emmanuel, who was abandoned by his mum, joined our family in February and is the happiest little chap. Ad he may only have been with us a short time but he already has items from his sponsors, Red and Brenda Groves, in his memory box which will become his treasures when he is older. Emmanuel, five months, is pictured with Charity and Said. News of another Emmanuel, the very poorly newborn who was found thrown away in a pit latrine on Christmas Day, and came into our custody for a short time is that he is settled with a foster family and getting the medical care he needs.
They only need to be asked once and they will have a programme worked out and rehearsals organised.
So it was no hardship when Mama asked them to put on a show for Lesley and Alan Pidcock, who arrived just a little too late to see them perform at the school closing day ceremony.
With their usual style they staged song, dance and acrobatic acts - much to the thrill of their special guests.
They also enjoyed apple bobbing, and Alan joined in when, as Papa's Leeds Army, the kids all marched on together.
Our hip-hop hero David showed off his dancing, complete with press ups, and not to miss out his closest ally, Esther, did a dance too!
One week into the school holidays and we are already busy getting things ready for the start of the new term.
With so many children in our family, all growing fast, it's time to check on uniforms to ensure everyone has clothes to fit.
Anything outgrown but not outworn is handed down, while anyone needing something new goes to be measured by our in-house seamstress to who makes what's needed.
Sorting everything is a big job, but we are never short of helpers and some of our bigger girls took on the task.
Doing a "big shop" took on a whole new dimension for Alan and Lesley Pidcock when then they went out with driver Noah to get the household groceries for Happy House. It was their initial fundraising aim to cover the cost of the household shopping for our family for the two weeks of their stay in Watamu. But they did so well, and with such amazing support from their friends and neighbours in Taif, Saudi Arabia, that they raised far more - enough for the shopping and to take out computer appeal to its target as well! Doing the shopping is eye-opening as it's about as far removed from a supermarket shop as you can get, but it's always interesting and enjoyable and willing helpers are aplenty at Happy House! Lesley and Alan did have a chuckle when they saw the brand of maize flour is called Taifa, it could have been made just for them - just add an A to Taif for team effort! Thank you again to Lesley and Alan and to everyone in Taif who supported them.
You have truly made a difference to the lives of our children.
Happy House kid Jacinta writes about the end of term closing day ceremony:
The closing ceremony was on a Friday
morning.
When we wanted to start our programme we had to get prepared first
because we had many activities ahead.
We were to start our activities at
9 am so we waited for Mama Sue to arrive so that we could start.
When the time was reached, we started with a word of prayer from one of our
teachers.
Most parents had arrived very early but others came late. When the
parents arrived, they were so happy everything was ready.
Everyone
was co-operating and we observed very nice behaviours.
The parents were entertained by different
things from the pupils.
Some pupils sang songs, others gave poems and others
danced. When all the presentations had been done, we had our best dancer that
is David Hayward perform for the people.
David came here since he was a little
boy and if you see him now he is big and he can now dance.
He danced at the
ceremony and everybody was happy and enjoyed watching him.
After the ceremony, when the parents went
into the classes they found out how their children had performed in exams, some had done well and others
had performed poorly.
The closing ceremony was
so nice and we enjoyed it.
Our older kids will be sporting Carlisle colours when then they are on the soccer pitch.
We were lucky enough to receive a full kit of Carlisle United kit from Christine Brewin, president of Carlisle South Inner Wheel.
Christine heard about Happy House when she attended a district Inner Wheel event last year where Elizabeth Gomm had been invited to talk about our family and the wonderful work being done by Mama Sue and her team.
Getting anything to Kenya is always a problem and the kit will be going in stages, as and when we have someone to take it.
The first batch has now arrived and we had three volunteers, Brian, Baraka and Suleiman, very happy to model some of it.
At Happy House we are touched by the kindness of others every single day.
But there is always something very special when the kindness comes from a child wanting to help children less fortunate than they are.
When Charlotte, five, who lives in Taif, Saudi Arabia, found out that Lesley and Alan Pidcock were making a trip to Happy House she wanted to do something for our kids.
Lesley said: "She came to me with a bag of clothes and toys she had sorted out that she wanted me to bring, so of course I found room to squeeze them in."
Esther eagerly posed for a picture with the a giant My Little Kitty and some lovely dresses sent by Charlotte, whilst Elizabeth clasped one of the toys but wasn't being free with her smiles!
A very big thank you to Charlotte for being such a very generous little girl.
School's out but the work doesn't stop. Mama and headteacher Isaac have been putting in lots of hours this week reviewing examination results. They meet with every student to discuss their results, to look at strengths and weaknesses, and to help the individual to set their own goals for the coming term. The youngsters really appreciate the personal involvement and encouragement they receive from Mama and Mr Isaac which helps them to aim higher
Thanks to the fundraising efforts of Lesley and Alan Pidcock and friends in Taif, Saudi Arabia, our appeal to raise £3,500 to add to our school computer room's stock of desktop computers, and to refurbish some old ones, has now reached its target.
So many of you have helped by making donations, but launching an appeal just after Christmas is never a good time and it has been growing at a slow pace.
Lesley and Alan, who are now having a holiday visiting Watamu and Happy House, started fundraising in Taif with the aim of covering our family's groceries bill for the duration of their visit. But they had such a wonderful response they far exceeded their wishes and at the final count raised £5,000.
So Mama Sue decided that it could be used to take our own appeal to target and to buy the computers while Lesley and Alan were there.
Papa sourced the new equipment at the best price and now Lesley, Alan and our kids have been helping to transport it to Happy House School where the kids were eager to help computer teacher Mr Omoi to unload and install it ready for the new term,
Now there will no longer be any delays in lessons because kids are having to share as each pupil in a computer class will have a laptop or desktop to use,
With huge thanks to all those, individuals and organisations, who have contributed to our appeal,
In doing so you are giving our children, from backgrounds of extreme hardship, a head start in learning computer skills which will stand them in good stead when they eventually leave education and join the workforce.
A special mention of Sara and Vinnie, a lovely Italian couple, who get married this summer. They made a donation to our computer appeal in place of favours for their guests who will, instead, each receive a photo of our kids.
Each term at Happy House School ends with a celebration. The closing day ceremony is an opportunity to reward success, improvement and effort and also to showcase the talents of our students. They put in a lot of time rehearsing for the celebration at Friday's closing day, and those who assembled to watch - parents, relatives, guardians and guests, were absolutely delighted with the show they had to watch.
Class 3, most improved
Students gave recitations, sang songs, demonstrated dancing and put on a display of acrobatics.
Dancing David
The presentations were made for academic success, and Class 2 emerged the best class in lower primary with Class 4 the best class in upper primary. Form 1 was the best class in secondary school. The most improved class was Class 3 primary. At the end of the show Mama called for the "best dancer" in school to step out to perform. And without hesitation, our David was there! Some of the older kids have been teaching him to break dance, and he's giving it his all.
As David completed his solo spot to rousing applause, Mama told the gathering how, when he was was 11 months old, she had been told he had Downs Syndrome and to take him home and love him. he would never amount to anything. "But we knew he could do more and worked so hard with him to bring out his potential and look what we have now, a happy, healthy, dancing six year old. "And that is what we call our Happy House magic!" David's dance spot is included in today's video. Click here to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bqZ9wMizLU&t=29s
It's been seven years and both our Happy House and our kids have grown more than a bi since Lesley and Alan Pidcock last came to visit.
But now, they're back and Mama and Papa and the family are delighted to see them.
Lesley and Alan, who live in Saudi Arabia, arrived on Friday and joined Mama and Papa at Happy House on Saturday morning.
Lesley and Alan, with the support of their friends, colleagues and neighbours at home in Taif, raised more than £4,000 for Happy House which has taken our appeal for computers for school to its target, with more left over to fulfil Lesley's original plan to to raise enough money to cover the costs of the Happy House household bills for the duration of their stay in Watamu..
They've also brought with them many much needed items for our children, including the books the kids are holding in the picture with Lesley.
Welcome Alan and Lesley, thank you for all you do to help our family, and enjoy your visit.
Every picture tells a story.. Front teeth missing, this happy little boy has a smile to light up the darkest day.. He's happy, healthy, and growing just as he should be, without a care in the world. It was a very different story when, in December 2014, Lucky and his brothers, Erick and Thomas, joined our family. The three were in a sorry state, Lucky, the middle child, the worst of all. His violent father had dipped his left foot in boiling water and, left untreated, it was badly infected.
2014
In our care, Lucky and his brothers received all the medical care they needed, and the unconditional love and support that every child deserves. Lucky's foot still bears the legacy of his injuries, but he is now a happy, confident and, sometimes, mischievous little boy. He and his brothers remain a close unit within our bigger family. They are a joyful trio bubbling over with enthusiasm for life. Mama Sue and her Happy House transform young lives and put hope into the hearts of children. We can only do this with your support, your sponsorship and your donations. If you would like to sponsor a Happy House child please email: elizabethgomm@childrenofwatamu.net or to make a donation go to: https://www.justgiving.com/childrenofwatamu/Donate
That the amazing result of an all-action fundraising effort organised by Lesley Pidcock in Taif, Saidi Arabia.
Lesley and her husband, Alan, are great friends of our charity and have been a huge personal support to Mama and Papa when they have had to spend prolonged visits to the UK.
Alan and Lesley visited Happy House in 2010, just a few months after it opened. They took our family to their hearts and kept it there.
They have sponsored Janet Chengo and Natasha Thoya, now both repatriated to relatives, and are also in the sponsor family of Priscilla, who they are yet to meet.
They set off for a holiday in Watamu tomorrow, and knowing she was going, Lesley was determined to raise enough money to pay the Happy House household grocery bill for the duration of their stay.
Lesley and Alan live in Taif, where Alan works, and Lesley arranged a fun day, a cake sale and other events, supported by friends of all ages.
She writes:
Taif has been a hub of fund raising and fun
over the last few weeks!
I have been very overwhelmed by the generosity of the
small community we have here.
The children did a sponsored walk last week, and I am
still getting their money handed in; a few of them did it the week before as
they were on holiday the week we did the walk.
They threw the water over me
at the end of the walk!
So far we have raised just over 21,000 Saudi Riyals
which is about £4,460 - fingers crossed we may just break through the £5,000.
Amazing, when I think of my first intention to try to raise £750 to cover household bilsl for Happy House for the time we are in Watamu.
Most days I have been given donations ranging from 30 to
3,900 SAR each one has been very gratefully received, as we know every penny
counts.
We held a fun day, where there were traditional stalls like name the teddy, how
many sweets in the jar, find the treasure, a cake stall, hot dogs and of
course a raffle.
However, the highlight
of the day was the senior management team that had agreed to be auctioned off
and have wet sponges thrown at them in the stocks this alone raised over 5,000
SAR.
We also had a band entertaining us
who had stepped in at the last minute, as the band we had planned pull out just
48 hours before the event. The band is very appropriately named ‘The 11th
Hour’...
We are hugely grateful to Lesley and Alan to all those friends who generously supported their fundraising. Every penny will be used to make life better and brighter for the children and young people in our care
Thank you.
And the Happy House family is looking forward to seeing you very soon, Lesley and Alan!
Boys will be boys, when, after a busy week it's time to chill out. At Happy House some of our boys home in on the games room just as soon as they can to have fun playing their favourite video games. Others prefer the more traditional form of entertainment playingcboard games or just running around in the great outdoors or swinging in the sun.
Happy birthday Papa
Today is Papa's birthday and we send him our love and good wishes for the happiest day from all his friends around the world.
Thank you Papa for all you do, for all the support you give our wonderful Mama, and for making us laugh too!
Our social worker Uncle Ronnie has no secrets if this report by Natasha is anything to go by!
