Exam ready

Our Happy House kids had fun getting ready for their exams. Home schooling, powered by enthusiasm and e-learning, is keeping our family of 60 children on track with their education during these tough times dominated by Covid restrictions which closed schools in Kenya back in March. To get them all fired up for their exams, and as a fun way of revision, they took part in a quiz as Mr Nasri explains.

New lines for laundry

With 60 children in our our family, the aunties working in the Happy house laundry have a mountain of washing every day! Now they no longer have to worry about negotiating puddles left by the rains we get. They now have a dedicated drying area with lovely secure new lines. There is also hardstanding for our vehicles with shelters underway. Mama Sue decided these were needed to protect the vehicles from the elements and to make life easier for the laundry, so it is money well spent. Morphin is our reporter

The barber calls

Our boys would, in normal times, go out into the village to visit the barbers. But with the ever-present risk of Coronavirus, we try to keep everyone at Happy House as safe as possible and so asked the barber to come to us instead. And the boys, who like to look smart, were delighted and quite happy to wait in the banda until it was their turn. John reports.

Song for Sunday

A beautiful duet of Love is like a Mango by two of our girls for today's Song for Sunday. We hope our weekly song from Happy House brings you as much pleasure as singing gives our children. Have a happy day.

Painting coming along well

Work on painting the Happy House is coming along well. It's a big job and as we mentioned in an earlier blog, we have taken on extra labour to help do it. Here Papa Dave brings us an update - filmed earlier this week.

Exam for teachers

It's been a testing time for our teacher at Happy House. They have been developing their skills by learning more about the features of Zoom and how to make the most of them. The cloud-based video conferencing service will be used in our school when the children return as we expand e-learning. Our teachers are excited by the challenge and sat an in-house exam on Zoom as Mr Paul tells us.

Ice cream from Tallulah

A little girl called Tallulah treated all our children at Happy House to ice-cream. 

A friend of Angela Lewis, who sponsors two of our children, Tallulah wanted to help too so she saved up her pocket money so the kids could have a treat. Mama Sue and the family decided on ice-cream because that's something they all love and can only have on special occasions. 

Thank you Tallulah for being so kind and thoughtful.

A BIG thank you

Mama Sue is saying thank you to everyone who has helped us to install smart TVs into every classroom at our school. And also for providing the money we needed to lay cable to take a stronger internet connection to support our mission to increase the e-learning we can deliver to our students when school returns. This will ensure that methods developed at the Happy House in home schooling the children living in our care during lockdown, can be extended to all the kids coming into school from the community on their return to education. With this and our incredible computer suite our children really will be very well grounded in technology and other subjects which will give them a head start when they are ready to enter the workforce.

And so it begins ...

Painting the Happy House exterior is a huge job. But it has to be done regularly to ensure that the building is kept in good condition. Now the rains have stopped, this is the ideal time and Mama decided to bring in some labour from outside to help out own maintenance staff. Not only will this get the job done quicker, it will also put food on the tables of these men and their families at a time when work is in very short supply. Uncle Ibrahim presents our video.

Party planning

Our older girls have turned into party planners to organise a celebration of Mama Sue's birthday next month. Mama wants to be able to hold a party her and Papa's house in Turtle Bay. With everyone going there will be more than 60 there including, Mama hopes, some sponsors who are planning to visit will be able to go. Her birthday is on the 16th, but the party will be held on whatever day suits best. It sounds as though it will be so much fun. So book your flight now!

Song for Sunday

Love and joy this is what we at the Happy House children's home in Watamu give to our children and something some will not have known before coming into our care. And in return, we watch change from frightened, unhappy little beings into confident and happy kids who can enjoy their childhood in the knowledge they are secure and loved. This Song for Sunday says it all really!

Getting ready for school

​Schools in Kenya closed in mid-March, three days after the country recorded its first Covid infection. 

They have not re-opened. 

While they are not expected to return until January, this could change and Mama Sue and her team at the Happy House are making sure we will be ready to open our doors just the minute they do. 

Work is going on to lay an internet connection cable to ensure we will have a more stable connection for our school. The plan is to adopt the e-learning methods we are finding so successful in home schooling the 60 children across the school. 

Mama Sue tells us more  in this video and thanks all those who are helping to make this possible.  That includes IT teacher, Mr Christone, who has rolled up his sleeves to help dig the trenches for the cable!

Teachers Zoom ahead

You never have too much knowledge. 

Our teachers at Happy House have been harnessing the powers of the internet to improve lessons for our children. 

With schools in Kenya closed since March, and no plans to returns before January, we have been using the internet to conduct lessons to class groups of children living in our care.

And the kids have been zooming ahead. 

Mama Sue is so pleased with the results that she is working with teachers to ensure they can deliver classes via this platform when school returns.

And while our children are having lessons, so are our teachers with our IT man, Christone, leading workshops for them. Here, teacher Naomi gives her view and says thanks to all our friends who have made this possible.

Our beautiful banda

The round banda at Happy House is where Mama, Papa and the children can relax. It's furnished with wicker chairs and sofas which were beginning to look a bit tired. They do get a lot of use, after all! So Mama asked some of the older boys if they would like to paint them which they did, and the cushions have new covers. It all looks lovely as Mwende tells us.

A treat for all the family

Love always wins through. 

Morphin was a troubled child when he came to Happy House but with lots of love, cuddles and guidance, he settled down and learnt how to trustand to live as part of a family,

He was also having difficulty at school but since we have been educating the children at home and, harnessing all the power of the resources on the internet, he has gone from bottom of the class to second place.

Jo and Pete Reid, who visit every year and are very good friends to the family, saw his results and sent a donation to buy all the kids a treat - which Morphin got to choose.

He picked oranges and lollipops, but with oranges impossible to get settled on his second choice - apples and lollipops. 

Thanks Jo and Pete from Morphin and all the family.

Baby James ... and he's wide awake!

Baby James slept through his first birthday honours at Happy House kidz club last week. So we had a replay on Saturday and he stayed awake! Here Mama Sue, with James on her knee and with Emmanuel and Abdul Malik at her side, says thanks to everyone who sponsors a child or supports our family. She also tells us what a happy, healthy little boy James is growing up to be and shows him a birthday card and letter from sponsor Angela Lewis which will be kept safely in his memory box for him to read and treasure when he old enough

Happy to work at Happy House

Foleni is a driver who also helps with cooking in our kitchen. He has worked at Happy House for a number of years now and is grateful for his job. Good employers can be hard to find in Kenya, so he values what he has at Happy House where reliable employees are always treated fairly and have both good pay and conditions. When Foleni, Uncle Foleni to our children, needed time off to deal with family issues in another part of the country he was given it, reassured that his job would be there when he returned. He tells us how he is delighted to be back.

Song for Sunday

Three-year-old Emmanuel turns choirmaster at Happy House to lead today's Song for Sunday. Evans, who filmed the video, says: "Emmanuel is a good singer and he is coming up very well in the family." He leads our family in singing "If You Are Happy and you Know It."

Good result

David, Ludwin, Neema John and Joyce are all smiles today. And so is their Mama Sue. The four children who we showed you taking some tests earlier this week are hearing their results from Mama and they've all done well.

Work coming on at Happy House.

Work is coming on well to create an area of hardstanding at Happy House. As Papa Dave explains the area will prevent a mudbath that comes with the rains. This has been a real problem for the aunties who work in our laundry as its where the washing lines are located. So Mama Sue decided to bite the bullet and use some of our much-needed cash on putting in hardstanding wit new washing lines. Plus there will be four covered areas when the Happy House vehicles can be parked and protected from the weather.

Testing times

Testing the children's progress by using exam works effectively at Happy House. They are having exams every six weeks so that their teachers and Mama Sue can monitor how they are doing and to spot any weaknesses before they become a real problem. Here Madam Esther has set an exam for some of our young ones, who with all the other children in our family are being home-schooled.

James sleeps through his birthday

We wanted him to be a birthday video star. After all, it's not every day you reach your first birthday. But our little James, a foundling who came into care of Happy House at 15 days old, had other ideas. Safe in the arms of his Mama Sue he slept right through his few minutes in the birthday spotlight at the weekly Kidz Club when we celebrate any birthdays of the week. But as Mama shows us he had a new cuddly companion to wake up to, his birthday present. Happy birthday James. Sweet dreams!

Charity, a Happy House miracle

Love, determination and our special kind of care turned Charity from a dying baby into a happy, healthy child. And as Charity turns 11, we look back on her story of tragedy turned to joy, Charity came to us when she was a few months old, her mum had died in childbirth and her grandparents were so poor they could not afford to buy milk for the baby she'd left behind. Her grandfather brought her to Happy House to plead for help and Mama Sue took her into our then fledgling family. She was so undernourished she was too weak to cry and trying to feed her baby formula milk was a struggle. But we never give up and gradually she started to eat and grow and after a few weeks her grandfather came back to see what had happened to his grandchild. He expected to be told that she had perished. When Mama Sue showed him his Charity he could not believe his eyes. "I gave you a dying baby, and you have given me a happy, healthy, granddaughter," he told Mama. Charity has stayed in our care and is growing a lovely young lady and remains in contact with her grandparents. Brenda and Red Groves who have been in her sponsor family since the day she arrived wanted to send a treat for her and the family for her her birthday. Charity chose apples and lollipops - a great hit with all the kids. Thank you Auntie Brenda and Uncle Red, we hope you will be able to come out and see us all again soon. That Charity is the beautiful little girl is thanks to you and the other members of her sponsor family, whose support and love makes our work possible. If you would like to know more about sponsoring a child please go to https://www.childrenofwatamu.net/sponsor

Brushing up on paint skills

Uncle Ibrahim, a member of our Happy House maintenance team, has been helping our volunteer painters to brush up on their skills.

Some of our older boys were eager to help spruce up the wicker furniture in the round banda, and have been working very hard.

But they had missed a few bits and made some mistakes, so Uncle Ibrahim was happy to show them how to put them right.

We believe in doing things the correct way at Happy House and don't cut corners, so learning this now will be a lesson that will go through life with our youngsters.

Song for Sunday

Another Sunday, another song. We are so pleased that you are enjoying seeing ad hearing our children from Happy House as they sing for you each Sunday. They form their own little groups and chose what song they will sing.

Esther's ice cream treat

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In these times, when money is tighter than ever for our charity, treats are extra special for our children in our care at Happy House.

In this video we have, Mama Sue with Esther talking about an ice cream treat.

Esther did well in her exams and because of her hard work, her sponsors, Richard Lea, his wife and members of South Ribble Rotary Club some money for Esther so that she could have a treat with the rest of the family members.

Esther chose Ice cream and biscuits which everyone enjoyed. Thank you to our friends who think about our family, we really appreciate your kindness.

Thank you from Happy House

Lucky speaks for all our children living at Happy House when he says thank you to Mama Sue for all she does for the kids in our care.

They really do know how fortunate they are to have all the opportunities she gives them and the wonderful resources to educate them and put them on the road out of poverty. 

Lucky also says thank you to all our sponsors and friends whose generosity ensures our home and our school are so well equipped. 

Raising crops at Happy House

Join Uncle Julius, one of our outdoor staff at Happy House, in the garden. He is checking on the small plots allocated to individual children who wanted to grow their own small crop. They prepared the ground, planted the seeds and have been caring for them ever since. In this video they are weeding. Once the crops are ready to harvest the vegetables will go to our kitchen where they will be used to help feed our family.

Sports view with Papa

Football is a passion for every child at Happy House whether they are playing or watching the game. And some of the younger children have been learning a bit more about it from Papa Dave who joined them to watch a game between Liverpool and Aston Villa. Leeds fan Papa is already looking forward to the start of the new Premier League season on September 12 when he is predicting a win for his team when they take on Liverpool.

Computer quiz

Our Happy House kids had their computer skills put to the test at the weekend. They took part in a quiz which aimed to challenge their minds and to assess their individual knowledge as Mr Nasri explains.