Children’s homes
in Kenya, like our own, face a major problem in that so much child suffering could be
avoided by the use of contraception.
Directors,
social workers and health professionals all acknowledge the issue, but Mama is
intent of driving it forward to find a solution through the network of
children’s homes spearheaded in our region by our Uncle Billy and Mama.
Each of the
homes has admitted children suffering from hunger ,neglect and , in some cases, abandonment, because their mothers were unable to provide for them.
And in soem cases, once the “burden’’ of
care has been lifted, the mother has just gone on to have more kids.
When she
cannot provide for them either, where does she turn?
Back to
us, as though it is her right ,and our duty, for us to take her baby
into our care
In one case we have three siblings whose
mother now has another baby. The mum of a set of twins who are with us has had
yet another set of twins.
They may come to visit their children, but make no attempt to change their lives so they can all be together.
Contraception is
easily accessible, so why won’t these women use it?
Mama is tackling
this question head on, seeking out the best advice and support to ensure that
women are informed about the availability and ease of government-sponsored
contraception.
We are
calling parents of kids in our care are being called to a meeting where Mama,
Uncle Billy and a family planning health professional, Christine, will talk to
them about their options and their responsibilities.
Of course they
have rights, but they must understand that if they go on having babies they
have a responsibility to feed, clothe and educate them.
There is no
automatic right of access to a children’s home.
Lack of
education and awareness is the major problem. In many
cases, men will not allow women to use contraception believing by taking away
the right to make a child it strips them of their manhood; in some cases men
may have several wives, and children by them all, even though there
is little or no income to support them.
In other
cases, women existing in poverty will have sex, without protection, for a few
shillings to put food on their table, and by the time they pregnant the man is
long gone.
Only by a
mind-shift in thinking, through education, will women be empowered to
make the right choices the way they manage their fertility.
Preventing
unwanted pregnancies would not only alleviate so much child suffering, it would
also reduce the number of maternal deaths.
But women can
only make an informed choice if they know and understand their options. And if
their husbands or partners are educated to understand that every woman is
entitled to a have a say in how many children she will bear.
Mama and our
charity intend to do all we can to ensure that they do
Children’s homes
in Kenya, like our own, face a major problem in that so much child suffering could be
avoided by the use of contraception.
But Mama soon assembled all the little ones on the step
to welcome Manuela to our family – singing “Welcome, welcome” at the top 
She has lived with a lone parent and is with us, for now,
because of a crisis in her family situation. Her future is yet to be
determined. Mama is happy offer shelter in a storm in circumstances like these
and long term home if it proves necessary.
Within minutes of
Manuela arriving, we were all still on the steps, the vehicles bringing our
kids back from football arrived. 
Both our teams had triumphed and they celebrated noisily,
while a bemused Manuela looked on at her new family.
When the aerobics team got up to do their display, we
were surprised to see her there – right in step in the front row.
Hemed, who came to the Happy House on work experience as
a trainee social worker, is now the social worker at Good Life Children’s Home.
It is very different from our own, but also provides a high standard of care and education.
Getting 72 children ready for a day out is a tall order,
but the older kids help the little ones
and by 9am, everyone, including some duty staff and others on day off who
wanted to come along to help, were ready to board the bus for the 90 minute
journey.
A long, hot and bumpy journey later, Hemed and the Good
Life family were waiting to greet us with welcome songs. As a thank-you each of our kids, all wearinga red baseball cap, gave another to a new friend from Good Life and they paired up to be shown
around the home and school.
The afternoon ended with a dancing competition, won by
our Salama, and dancing when everybody joined in.
Since coming home Mama has seen just how very much we need
more space for our own children – and also for those others who desperately
need a home here.
She spoke to the older children, to see if they would
be happy to move upstairs and all the over 11s eagerly agreed, specially when
she told them that those sharing rooms could choose the material for curtains
and bedcovers.
A local builder has now started on work to convert a banda into a school library, computer room, office, staffroom and
headteacher’s office.