Making a splash and splashing out on groceries

Auntie Lynn in the swim

There was a splashing time for volunteer Lynn Baya Thoya when she swapped the blustery Blackpool coast for the soft white sands of Watamu.
 Lynn, who lives in Blackpool, arrived back at the weekend and it is so hot she was glad of a chance to cool down!
Auntie Lynn (pictured with Lily and Salama)  enjoyed a trip to Garoda beach with all our Happy House kids. Garoda is where  Lynn  married her Kenyan husband, John, last June.

Another return visitor to the Happy House is Italian Marina Temperato. Marina, who has a special place in her heart for our little David.
Marina called in to say hi to all our kids and brought with her some very useful groceries including maize flour, rice, sugar and cooking oil.  She is pictured with David and also with auntie Rose, Shakila, Oscar, Fatuma and David.
Gifts of staple foodstuffs like these are always very much appreciated as they help keep our bills down.
Thank you Marina for your kindness.

Welcome back Steph

Birthday girl  Mercy

With Lucinda

 After saving hard to go back to Kenya to visit the Happy House, Steph Hill has been reunited with her beautiful sponsor child, Lily.
And with her, meeting Lily for the first time,  is her fiance Gavin Kelly.
Steph has been supporting and fundraising for the Happy House since before it was built and has followed the progress of our kids every step of the way.
As Steph and Gav's arrival coincided with Kidz Club when they were asked to do the birthday honours by presenting gifts to this week's birthday children, Mercy and Lucinda.

Saying hello to Lily.

Steph is thrilled to be back and to see how Lily has grown.

Last year Steph was with her mum Bev Higham and sister Lyndsey, so  this year she is having fun introducing Gavin to all our kids.
We hope Steph and Gav, who work at Newton Hall Holiday Centre, near Blackpool, enjoy every minute of their well-earned break.
Christmas pictures
Members of our sponsor family should have received, by email, a picture of their child along with a Christmas greeting.  If you haven't received your picture please let us know. 
Email:  elizabethgomm@childrenofwatamu.net

Clinic call for Jonathan

Mama with Jonathan and Dr Kapanga

While Mama was back home at the Happy House she took the opportunity to take Jonathan see paediatrician Florence Kapanga at her private clinic in Malindi.

Jonathan has been diagnosed with sickle cell anaemia and the treatment and management of his condition is crucial.

Uncle Billy

Mama, who went to the clinic with our social worker Uncle Billy, was pleased to  talk to Dr Kapanga about the recommended treatment for our little boy and was happy that he is getting what he needs at the moment.

We would like to thank specialist nurse Isabel Adams, of the sickle cell unit at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, for her help and advice.

Isabel has done a great deal to explain the condition to us and also sent us a very useful parents’ handbook which will be of great help to Uncle Billy and our house mums who are responsible for the daily care of Jonathan and which will help them to identify a crisis when it occurs, quickly.

Running for your money

Well done to Chris Lunt who braved the cold to complete a 10k run in Manchester on Sunday to raise money for our family.
Chris, from Denton, is an account manager at Micro Librarian Systems, Stockport, which has adopted our Happy House as its charity.
Chris, who is joining our sponsor family, wanted to go the extra mile by taking part in a sponsored run.
So far he has raised  more than one hundred pounds on his Justgiving page.
Many thanks Chris for your valiant efforts … as you can see from this picture our kids like running too!
If you would like to support Chris and the Happy House you can make a donation at www.justgiving.com/happyhouse
A big thank you to Devizes Running Club who made a donation of one hundred pounds via our good friend and charity trustee Chris Franklin.
Baggage call
Does anyone living in Blackpool or the Fylde coast have any large holdalls they may no longer need or could loan to Mama Sue and Papa Dave who have so many donated items to take back to the Happy House with them when they next go back.
They need two or three holdalls, with a 23k capacity. If you can help please email Mama at sue@childrenofwatamu.net

Thanks for calling in

The day before leaving for the UK, Mama was delighted to welcome Ian and Isobel Hume back to the Happy House.
Ian and Isobel are regular visitors to Turtle Bay Beach Club and when they are home in Basingstoke like to follow the progress of the Happy House family via the website and blog.
There have been many changes since they last came to see us  and they were impressed by what they saw, especially the school and our greenhouses.
Isobel was very keen to meet our very special little boy David to see the progress that he has made, and it was time for his daily exercises when she popped into the baby banda to say hello.
Isobel and Ian brought with them some lovely items for our children which are so appreciated.
Thank you both for taking the time to visit, we hope you enjoy the rest of your holiday.
*Visitors are always welcome at the Happy House (weekdays 9am-4pm), Uncle Billy or Auntie Rose will be happy to show you around. 
If you would like to call first the number, in Kenya, is 0726 335215. December 25, Christmas Day, will be a quiet family day so please note that there will be no visitors that day.
Bigger Bus Appeal
As you may know we have launched our Happy House Bigger Bus Appeal to raise money to buy a bigger bus so we can transport our kids, as a family, safely and more cost-effectively to medical and dental appointments, outside activities including free weekly football coaching at a football academy for disadvantaged kids in Malindi, on school trips and other excursions which are so much a part of growing up.
If you would like to support our appeal you can donate by clicking on this link http://www.justgiving.com/elizabeth-gomm .
Please share this link with your friends and your family and help to get our family on the right road in 2013!

The cutting edge

Acut above: Fikiri, Evans and Sifa

Sifa takes over the blog this week with a story of a trip to the barber.
He writes:

 The boys wanted to have their hair cut so they went to see Mama to ask and she said ‘’Yes, you can’’ and she gave Evans the money.
The boys, 13 of us, walked to                                                                                      
                                                         Timboni to the barbers.
                                                         They were pleased to see us.

   They cut our hair. 

Uncle Billy came with the camera and asked me please      to take pictures for the blog.
Then we came home. Auntie Libby took a picture of me, Evans and Fikiri.
We now look very smart.

Bigger Bus Appeal
As you may know we have launched our Happy House Bigger Bus Appeal to raise money to buy a bigger bus so we can transport our kids, as a family, safely and more cost-effectively to medical and dental appointments, outside activities including free weekly football coaching at a football academy for disadvantaged kids in Malindi, on school trips and other excursions which are so much a part of growing up.
If you would like to support our appeal you can donate by clicking on this link http://www.justgiving.com/elizabeth-gomm .
Please share this link with your friends and your family and help to get our family on the right road in 2013!

Brian part of Blackpool school family

Children at Devonshire Primary School, Blackpool,  enjoy following the progress of their own special Happy House child Brian. And they are a very important part of his sponsor family. Here Devonshire school tells of the road that led it to the Happy House:
""Our involvement began shortly after we had seen reports about Sue and the Happy House Project in the Blackpool Gazette. Jack, Sue’s grandson, was a pupil of our school at that time.
School thought that it would be a great idea to sponsor her charity so that our children could learn about children from other countries who are less fortunate than themselves.
The children of the school council quickly became involved with the charity.  They invited Sue into school to come and give a talk to the School Council.  Sue spoke about her work and showed the children a dvd.
This touched the hearts of the children and they agreed that we at Devonshire should sponsor a child.  That child was Brian. This obviously made the children think deeply about Watamu and baby Brian as, during the yearly SATS, many children wrote about the charity in their literacy writing tests.
The children are always suggesting new fundraising ideas and keep up to date with the latest news from Watamu by looking at our display on the corridor or reminiscing by looking at old photos and reports in our display book in the reception area.

A book for Brian

Sponsoring Brian has enriched the lives of our children, helping them to realise that not everyone is as fortunate as we are and that no matter how little we may have to give, what we can give can and does make a difference.  We  thank the Happy House for that opportunity."

A tasty read!

Devonshire  sent a storybook for Brian for Christmas, with love from all his friends there, and he has his own section and gallery on the school blog where children can follow his progress, see our Happy House daily blog, and add their own comments.
*Brian came to the Happy House as a newborn in June 2010. His mother abandoned him in hospital shortly after giving birth. He is a happy, thriving toddler and enjoying being in the Playgroup at the Happy House School.
Thank you Devonshire School for your continued support and love for little Brian.
If any schools or individuals would like to know more about sponsoring a Happy House child please contact: elizabethgomm@childrenofwatamu.net