Children Of Watamu

We feel now that the education side of our work is very well supported. Our next main project has to be to build a Happy House. Some people call these places Orphanages, but to us that would conjure up pictures of a Charles Dickens novel, where cold, dirty, frightened children huddle together.

We don’t want this. We want Happy Kids. Ours will be real Happy home for these children. If you stand outside you will hear laughter and singing. When you enter there will be happy, healthy, smiling faces.

Watamu and the surrounding areas now has a very high number of orphans, due to Aids, Malaria and many other diseases that these people have to contend with on a day to day basis. Numerous children are abandoned. Brothers and sisters try and care for each other. Some are not much older than the children they are caring for. Children have disappeared from the village. If a child anywhere in the world goes missing it is headline news. In Watamu a child goes missing,’ Well it was an orphan” Where has the kids gone!  Where are these children? Are they still alive?

We need a place where these children can live happily in safety. Where they can grow and be children. A place where children can go to sleep in a bed and wake up to a breakfast.

In June 2007 a man well known to us Grandpa Yaa, very generously donated to the charity 4 Acres of his own land. Grandpa Yaa is 90 years old and lives with his wife Peninah, they married in 1944 have 12 children, 60 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren. One of his grandson’s is Silas, Headmaster of the Primary school.

When Grandpa heard that Sue needed land to build the Happy House, he said to his sons “The land belongs to Kenya, the orphans belong to Kenya, we should give some land to Sue as she is the one that will make a difference to the lives of these unfortunate children”. It was very humbling experience. A 99 year lease was signed

(left) Sue, Grandpa Yaa and Samuel at the signing of the lease.

(right) Grandpa Yaa donates 4 Acres of his land to the charity.

So now we have the land and we definitely have the kids. The plans have been drawn and passed in February 2008, to accommodate 76 children.  The land has been fenced off. A well has been sunk, ready to supply water for the gardens and when the building work starts in September 2008. When the rains finish in June the land will be cleared in preparation for the foundations to be laid.  I will publish pictures of the progress. We are having a lot of fruit trees planted. In time we will be very self-sufficient food wise. We will grow all the vegetables and fruit needed to feed the children We intend to keep chickens, ducks, goats and dairy cows.

Not only do we have to build the Happy House, it must also be furnished. Beds, a kitchen, washrooms and toilet facilities, are needed. Living quarters for staff. A dining hall that can double as a recreation room. Children need their own space as they grow and their own privacy. We are not going to put these kids in large dormitories, we will have small units it is a home not an institution. When the house is complete we still have to feed and clothe our children, pay wages and bills.

The 3 schools already built by the charity will provide a guaranteed quality education. Some of the orphans attending school will become Happy House Kids, as their living conditions at the present time are very unsatisfactory. Some are living with relatives or neighbours who are unable to care for them and their own children. These children are already have sponsors through our Sponsored Child Scheme. There is a clinic at school where their medical needs are attended.

The Happy House will thrive with caring, supportive staff and the backing of its sponsors, volunteers and trustees. Without it, these children would be destitute, finding scraps to eat in the bush and sleeping rough. They would have no home, no medicines and no education no future and the great possibility of – not surviving at all.

This project will provide a vital link for so many children, who will pass through its doors over the next 99 years and beyond. Children who will hold their heads high and be proud to say  ‘I was a Happy House Kid ‘

The Charity has the funds in place for phase one of the project. Excavation work, ground settings, and foundations. This is due to the hard work and generosity of so many people. People, who have done Charity nights in their local pub, sponsored slim and swims. Non-uniform days organised by schools. Items bought from the Wish List.  People who have made donations and who genuinely care about the future of these very defenceless children.

Can you help us? Can you organise something amongst your friends, family, colleques or school friends. Can you save these children from a life of destitution?
There are so many ways that you can Make a Difference. A donation or a monthly standing order might be a possibility. We also have a Wish List where we have listed all items needed, from blocks to build, doors and windows, to beds, cutlery, plates and even animals, such as chickens, goats and cows, for the farm area.
A Kenyan friend of mine once said to me "Sue, help where you can and feel sorry where you can't" I don't want to feel sorry.
Thank you for visiting this page from Sue Hayward & The Children of Watamu