School Report: Holiday Club in action

 School is out, but holiday club is in and our kids are having fun taking part in lots of organised activities.
Holiday Club runs for two weeks, with teachers arranging the programme, and Madam Catherine tells us: "  Pupils and teachers have divided themselves into different groups with different activities.

These include artwork, reading in the library, watching videos  and crafts.

There are also sporting activities  with ball games plus skittles, bowls and rounders to enjoy.

The babies are having fun playing with toys , singing etc."

Chilling out with Papa Dave

With a clash of two footballing giants on TV,  Papa enlisted his own team to watch it with.

Evans, Sifa, Hassan and Samson are all keen Manchester United fans and with their team taking on rivals Arsenal on Sunday, Mama and Papa invited them to their house to chill out and watch it the game with Papa.

Musyoka, who doesn't really like football, went along so that he could help Mama in the kitchen.

While the soccer fans watched the game, he and Mama cooked up sausages, chips and beans - quite different from their usual Sunday tea of pilau.

They tucked in to a good tea, cooled down with a swim and went back home to Happy House a happy band of brothers as Manchester beat the Gunners 2-1.

Happy House Hat Challenge: Day 2

Put on a festive hat to help our Happy House.

In just five simple steps!

1: Put on you hat
2: Take a picture and post on Facebook tagging @HappyHouseWatamuKenya

3 DONATE by text HHHC22 £2 to 70070

 (JustTextGiving by Vodaphone)
4: NOMINATE two or more friends to do the same.

5: If you prefer make your donation (£2 or more)  online via  https://www.justgiving.com/childrenofwatamu/Donate/

Hats on - donate and nominate!

Are you up for a festive fundraising challenge? It’s for warm-hearted fun lovers, no ice cold water involved!

We are asking you to follow baby George Thompson’s example by bobbing on a Christmas hat, donating £2 or more to Children of Watamu Happy House, and posting your picture on Facebook – challenging at least two friends to do the same.

You can donate by TEXT:

*Text HHHC22 £2 to 70070 to donate Children of Watamu . JustTextGiving by Vodafone.

Or, if you are in school, work or a community group, maybe you would like to do a group or family challenge on a chosen day, with all money raised coming to Happy House. Don’t forget to post the piccies. You can payin your donations via the JustGiving link https://www.justgiving.com/childrenofwatamu/Donate/

These are hard times for everyone in Kenya, and many more children are suffering. The Happy House is a safe haven now for 90 children and we are making room to take as many more as  will need us.

No child in need will ever be turned away.

A couple of quid (euro or dollars), WILL make a difference.  Every penny raised goes directly where it is intended to helping our family.

Your hats can be as creative as you like. Please tag Facebook pictures  @HappyHouseKenya when you post your picture so we can all have a laugh.

There are no prizes, but there will be many winners – our children at the Happy House.

Come on folks, bob on a festively festooned fedora, a bauble bobbing boater, a tinselled topper or just a simple Santa hat and have fun.

Spread the word, far and wide, and maybe our Christmas Happy House Hat Challenge will just go viral.

Three month old George is leading the way: " I like it when my mummy and daddy talk to me about Happy House and I like seeing the children on the blog.  I want to help so I’m challenging you to put on a festive hat, DONATE and NOMINATE.”

If you prefer to donate using online banking go to JustGiving https://www.justgiving.com/childrenofwatamu/Donate/

*If you would like a poster to print and put up at work, or to post on your Facebook page please email elizabethgomm@childrenofwatamu.net

School Closing Day - by Janet, Musyoka, Riziki and Margaret

The end of year school closing day ceremony is a big occasion for our children and today three of our Happy House kids, Janet, Musyoka and Margaret are joined by scholarship student, Riziki,  as they give their take on the big day!
Janet:

School is closed. We are so glad that next year some of us will be going to the next class. On closing day there  were various activities.

We had rehearsed very hard so that by the day everything would be fine and well organized.

It was an exciting day especially to those who  were graduating to class one and to the class sevens who will be going to class eight being the first KCPE (Kenya Certificate of Primary Education) candidates in Happy House. 

I thank mama, papa and all the Happy House staffs for changing my life. I have really benefited a lot from them

 I thank God for taking us through the whole year. Am proud that next year I'll be among the Happy House  KCPE candidates.

 Musyoka:

It was on a Thursday when teacher said that we are going to have our closing day ceremony so we went to our classes to change our uniforms

The parents and visitors came to the Banda and sat on the chairs so the head teacher came and said to us that the parents had arrived so we must hurry so that they don’t get bored.

We were called to do the activities we were so happy.

Riziki: When the day of closing school was reached our teacher said to us that we should go to the banda and change and prepare yourself  to be  ready, so that when the parents came we  should  be  ready to start our programme  of  closing  school.
At nine when the parents were steated we start  our play when we have finished our play a teacher said that we shall now welcome our small babies to come and say a poem and we have so many activities to show the parents .  

Margaret: On closing day I was happy that we were going to show parents and visitors what we have been doing in school. 

We  entertained with different activities such as Indian dance, Scottish dance, poems, songs and Sakata dance. 
 I was in the Sakata dance group and I love dancing as my talent. 
We made everyone happy with our performance and the items did for them.
 And they will be happy with us.           

Video bonus!

Birthday double

Two happy children have  their birthdays this week.
As usual, their special days were celebrated as a family occasion at Kidz Club.
Everyone joined in the birthday songs for birthday stars, Hajiri and Linus, and they each received gifts.
Happy birthday kids.

Committed to our care

Children in our family are committed to our care through the Kenyan courts.

And there was an early start for this group of eleven children, when they travelled to Malindi with Mama and Uncle Billy for the committal orders to be be made by the magistrate.

It is very special and emotional for Mama to have these precious lives entrusted to the caring family that is Sue Hayward's Happy House.

The orders on all children are periodically reviewed, as required by Kenyan law, but for these children it was their first visit to the courts.

Mama and Uncle Billy make sure they know what is happening, and make it an outing so that they are not at all daunted by the surroundings.

Front row: Saul and Saidi; Middle row L-R  : Florence, Mercy, Baraka Francis, Abdul malik & Teddy; Back row L – R :  Brian,Jacinta,Baraka Mkutano & Derrick.

Turning pennies into £s in Tibberton

What a happy email we have received from the school council at  Tibberton First School, Worcester, who have raised £245.60 for our family.
Tom, Isabella, Lucy and the rest of the school council tell us: "We have heard about Happy House and decided to try to help you look after the children in Kenya.

"We had a Harvest Festival where we brought in food for homeless people in Worcester but we wanted to help Happy House too.

"We had a House competition called “Penny Wars”. Penguins House won but altogether we raised £245.60

"We hope that money will help look after the children.

"Next term we are going to raise some more money and go on a sponsored walk with Hindlip School."

After talking  to their headteacher, Carolyn Tew, the money raised will go towards supporting a child in our Happy House  so that her pupils have a special friend there.

Carolyn also explained how Penny Wars works, just in case other schools would like to follow suit!

"We held it as a competition between our three Houses. Basically each house collects 1p and 2p coins in a jar. The totals can then be sabotaged by putting in silver coins or notes into another house’s jar. So if a house had 250p in copper and then someone put in a 50p piece they would be down to 200p! 

The houses all ended up on about minus 2000!

We sent out a text each day to parents to say which house was winning and that kept the “silver” coins coming in to try to sabotage the winning house! 

So raising lots of money in total."

Thank you everyone for being such great fundraisers and for wanting to help our children, You are very special, indeed.