Turning the table to tennis!

Table tennis is the latest game to be enjoyed by our children at Happy House. Mama Sue thought it would be something they'd enjoy and which as well as being a new activity would be good for hand-eye coordination for the younger children. As Diana tells us, they are queuing up to have a game!

Sports training back on

Happy House kids are delighted to be back in sports training. The training stopped when the children returned to school after many months off because of the pandemic. They chose to concentrate on learning and preparing for examinations. Now they are on seven weeks school holidays they are back in training for soccer, volleyball and basketball. Morphin and Saidi are super-keen soccer players and absolutely thrilled!

New wheels for Happy House

Happy House has a new mini-bus to transport children in to school from the local community. The bus has been purchased with the money we have been able to claim in Gift Aid for the past year. Gift Aid is a scheme available to registered charities in the UK meaning they can claim extra money from HMRC. The charity or CASC can claim an extra 25p for every £1 you donate, as long as you've paid the basic rate of tax and make the donation from your own funds.

This is a huge help to us, as Mama Sue says in this video, and we are so grateful to all those of you who Gift Aid your donations. It is important that you tell us if your circumstances or your postal address changes and you can do this by contacting sue@childrenofwatamu.net Here we show you the mini-bus which will have seats installed and the required yellow and black "school bus" livery required by the Kenya Government by the the time school reopens after the current long holiday.

A short story from Happy Huse

As with all large families (and we, at Happy House, are larger than most) every item of clothing is worn and washed until it wears out! And even when it is no longer fit for wearing we always need cloths for cleaning, so nothing is thrown way until it is absolutely useless. So all those lovely friends who have made shorts for our little boys can be sure they've been well worn and well loved, but now they have seen out their lives and we needed new ones. We had material that also been kindly donated and Mama Sue asked our machinist, Auntie Constance, to use it to make new shorts which are boys are delighted to model for you. Thanks to everyone who supports us, your kindness is so appreciated.

Learning from an expert

Happy House kid Brian is learning carpentry from our full-time joiner, Uncle Charo. 

Uncle Charo, can turn his hand to anything involving woodwork, and here they are installing a ceiling into one of the rooms that was open to the makuti thatched roof. 

This will help to make it quieter and will reduce the dust. They will then paint the room to make it ready for use.

Keeping our home beautiful

Members of our Happy House family grow up taking a pride in their surroundings. They love their home and its grounds and want it to look its best, so helping to keep it neat and tidy is something they are happy to do. In this video we join Florence and Priscilla and their team of garden helpers who have been checking the grounds to pick up any bits of litter or debris they might find. Our children all know to use bins for any "takataka" (litter) so their mission should not be to difficult, but, inevitably, some blows in from outside and there are bits of garden debris to clear up

A song for you

We Are the World is a favourite song for Husna and Purity. Written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and released by the supergroup USA for Africa. The 1985 song was produced to help raise money for famine relief in Africa, and was remade again in 2010 after the earthquake in Haiti. Here the two songbirds sing an extract.

Making memories

Every time a sponsor writes, emails or sends a card to their Happy House sponsor child they are helping to make memories. Not only do they give huge pleasure to the youngsters when they arrive, they then become treasures for their memory boxes and will be looked at time and time again. This week, Lesley, Abdulmalik, Neema, Ludwin, David and Esther, have received cards from their sponsors Angel Lewis and David Paris wishing them well in their recent exams plus a colourful mask for each of them. Here Mama tells us more.

Joining our Happy House team

Happy House kid Evans , who came to us as a small boy, is now a confident young man on the threshold of his career. Evans, who completed his final KCSE exam this week, will be starting work as a trainee manager at Happy House on April 26. He will also be moving into his own accommodation nearby, just as soon as he has found somewhere suitable. When he joins her team, Evans will be fulfilling Mama's prediction that the future running of the Happy House management would lie in the hands of the young people who have grown up there. She said Evans would be ideal because he will have a very special insight into the children it supports. "He is that child," she says.

KCPE pass for all our Happy House Year 8

Happy House School has once again scored 100% pass in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education.

Of our 20 candidates who sat the national examination, three are young people living in our family, Brian Jacinta and Oscar.

The remaining 17 are students living in the community attending our school.

For everyone to pass in a year that has been so tough, it a wonderful achievement and maintains the 100% pass we have achieved every since since our school opened. 

The students had more than three months off school because of the pandemic and while Brian Jacinta and Oscar had the advantage of home education at Happy House, it was not possible to extend it to every student living in the community. 

Mama Sue had successfully introduced e-learning, using Zoom and backed up with educational resources available on the internet, to our Happy House family and it was so successful that she decided to introduce it into our classes. 

When school returned, she was,  thanks to the kindness of donors, was able to open four remedial classes , each with their own teacher,  to help youngsters catch-up in the areas they found most difficult. These classes, with very small numbers, allow teachers to work with each individual. 

This has paid dividends already with these excellent exam results and we are so grateful to those people whose support made it possible.

 Well done to our kids, you do the Happy House proud and we are so proud of you.

To bring you a smile

As our lockdown eases a little in the UK, other countries where our Happy House has also has very good friends are in the grip of tight restrictions.

To our children, living in their own big bubble and on a long school holiday, are pretty much unaffected by the Covid 19 pandemic although very much aware of it, the need for strict hygiene procedures and "keeping safe".

But they think of their sponsors and friends. Here is a message from Morphin which he hopes will make you smile.

Smell the flowers with Saidi

Saidi is one of our keen young gardeners at Happy House. They enjoy growing vegetables that they can eat, but they also like to grow flowers to make the garden look nice. And as Saidi tell us they are "smelling well" too!

Bat and ball game

Our younger children at Happy House enjoy a game of bat and ball in this video. Being a part of a big family like our own means they always have someone to play with and they soon learn to take turns and to share - vital lessons in life! Esther presents this video.

In the pumpkin patch

With the rains coming, hopefully the sprinklers won't be needed too much in the coming weeks at Happy House. We meet Edward and friends in the garden today where they are tending the pumpkin patch. Pumpkin soup is a favourite on our Happy House menu.

A game of volleyball

​Volleyball is a game very much enjoyed by youngsters at the Happy House. 

Here Florence introduces us to the two teams playing a friendly match.

Judging from the sound of it the supporters were having as much fun as the players!

Thank you Tibberton First School

Small charities like our own have to tighten their budgets ever-harder in times like these. The pandemic is causing problems for so many people that charity is, understandably, often the last thing on their minds and that means that we have to try to stretch every penny just a little bit further, So our family at Happy House are eternally grateful to all our friends, old and new, who continue to sponsor children and to send donations to keep our wonderful children's home and school going. We know it is not easy and appreciate all that you do. Today, Mama Sue and the children say a special thank you to our loyal friends at Tibberton First School and Hindlip Primary in Worcestershire. They have been sending annual donations to Happy House every year since 2014 and we have recently received a cheque fr £279.54. Every penny of this will be used to supporting the children living in our care. Thank you so much for your love and for caring - we hope you will enjoy the song our children sing for you.

A bear incentive

One of our smallest Happy House kids has a very special incentive to stop sucking his finger. Emmanuel, known to all the family as Oh-Oh, has such a habit of sucking his finger that he's made it sore. When he's toddled into Mama Sue's office, Oh-Oh has always been keen to cuddle Mama's little blue teddy bear, Horace, so Mama thought that offering him the chance to take Horace to bed with him might work as a way to put a stop to the finger sucking. And so far, it has!

Charged with a new job!

​Brothers Erick and Lucky have taken on the important job of making sure the iPads and tablets at Happy House are charged and ready for use by the other kids.

It's nice for the kids to take some tasks in their home because it helps them grow up with a sense of responsibility. 

"The best thing is that they have not been forced or told to do the job, they just felt they needed to make it their responsibility so that the other kids can be able to use the devices when they need them," said Evans, who recorded this video.

Condolence message to Queen Elizabeth II

Mama Sue and Papa Dave led the Happy House family in extending a message of condolence to Queen Elizabeth II on hearing of the death of her husband and consort, His Royal Highness Prince Philip.

As British nationals, Mama Sue and Papa Dave hold the Royal Family dear to their heart and in Kenya, where, in 1952, The Queen heard of the death of her father and her accession to the throne, she and the Prince are held in the highest regard.

Mama Sue, visibly moved by the loss, and our family at Happy House said a special prayer of sympathy for The Queen when they gathered on Saturday.

Tree trimming brings bonus

Trimming back trees in the garden at the Happy House brings a bonus. As you know, we don't let anything that can be used go to waste and wood lopped off the trees has been collected up and is ready to use as firewood in our outside kitchen. Most of the meals are cooked there and fuel is always needed. Here, Tumaini tells us more.

Towering success

Tumbling and towering, our young acrobats from Happy House were a huge success when they entertained at the birthday party for Evans and for Papa Dave. 

It was a great way to round off a splendid celebration for two very special people.

Party bags

Birthday party VIPs, Papa Dave and Evans, had the very pleasant task of handing out hoody bags to every Happy House child. Everyone had worked so hard to make their birthdays special that the bags of sweets were well deserved. And they went down a treat!

Party helpers

Many hand make light work of a hosting a party. Our older youngsters at Happy House are always eager to help and here Florence (pictured with Rukia) and some of the girls are busy serving cakes.

Song for, and from, Evans

When the Happy House family sang a Happy Birthday to their much-loved big brother Evans, Mama Sue thought it only fair for Evans to give them a song too. And a very fine job he made of it.

Birthday boys

There were cakes for both birthday boys at our Happy House double celebration. Rukia had taken on the role of baker to make and ice cakes for both Papa Dave and Evans. And they look delicious.

Double celebration

Two birthdays, one party! At Happy House we are very good at celebrating special events and so Papa Dave's birthday and Evans' 21st falling on almost the same day was the perfect reason to party. Our youngsters have spent weeks planning the activities, making decorations and masks, ready for the big day. Papa Dave, Mama's constant love and support, is much loved by our family and Evans, who has grown up a Happy House kid, is also loved by all his "brothers and sisters" and a very good role model! As with any event at Happy House, the party started with a prayer of thanksgiving said by Mama Sue.

Happy Easter

Easter Sunday is a a time for joy and celebration and some of our children at Happy House have united in song - especially for you. Evans, who recorded the video, says: "You are very special friends and you mean a lot to their lives. " It’s nice to know that there is somebody, beyond Happy House, who is there for you and who supports you because it boosts your confidence and your way of doing things. "We wish you a Happy Easter."

All ready to party

The decorations are up and everyone is ready to party/ Today is the the day the Happy House family will be celebrating Papa Dave's birthday along with the 21st birthday of Evans. Evans has grown up in our family and we are very proud of the young man he has become. Here some of the children are featured during preparations for today.

Thank you Blue Marmalade

Papa Dave and some of our Happy House children visited Blue Marmalade supermarket in Watamu to say a very big thank you. Blue Marmalade had ordered perishable good specially for holidaymakers due to visit but now, because, of restrictions many of them have had to cancel their Easter vacations abroad. So very kindly the proprietor has very kindly donated the surplus good to Happy House to help feed our family. We are so very grateful and our children are thrilled! Thank you. We hope it won't be too long before people are able to travel once again and enjoy holidays in beautiful Watamu.

Making decorations

Happy House plans for a joint birthday party for Papa Dave and for Evans, who will be 21, are now in the final stages. The children have arranged a programme of activities and entertainment, the menu is organised and at at the weekend they were busy making masks and decorations to go with the animal theme.