News about our "Happy House" Project
Our next main project has to be to build a Happy House. Some people call them Orphanages but to me that conjures up pictures of a Charles Dickens novel, where cold, dirty, frightened children huddle together.
Ours will be Happy and it will be a real Home for these children. If you stand outside you will hear laughter and singing. When you enter there will be happy, healthy, smiling faces.
As mentioned elsewhere on the site Watamu now has a high number of orphans, due to Aids, Malaria and many other diseases. In other instances some children are just left abandoned. They are being cared for by their brothers and sisters who are no more than children themselves. Some of these vulnerable children have disappeared from the village. Where are they now?, what is happening to them if they are still alive?
We need a place where these children can live happily in safety. They can go to sleep at night in a bed and wake up to a breakfast.
In June 2007 a man well known to us as Grandpa Yaa, very generously donated to the charity 4 Acres of his own land. Grandpa Yaa is 84 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 the Headmaster of the school.
When Grandpa heard that Sue needed land to build the Happy House he said to his sons “The land is ours, the orphans are ours, we should give some land to Sue as she is the one that will make a difference to the lives of these unfortunate children”.
Sue, Grandpa Yaa and Samuel at the
signing of the lease.
So now we have the land and we definitely have the kids.We have been in negotiations with the British Royal Engineers,who hopefully will supply all the man power and machinery needed to start building in September 2008. We need to supply the funds for the materials. The plan is to eventually cater for 100 children their ages ranging from babies to 16. If we can just get 20 children into somewhere safe we will be achieving.
Not only do we have to build the Happy House, it must also be furnished. We need beds, a kitchen, wash rooms and toilet facilities. A place for staff to live in, 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 these kids, pay wages and pay bills.
This is such a mammoth task but when we look through the web site and realise what has already been achieved, I know that we can achieve this in time.When the foundations are being laid, I will publish pictures of the progress.
Please help us, to give these frightened, vulnerable children a chance in life we desperately need your help. We all have so much these days, what we throw away daily would feed a family. Do you remember as a child if you didn't eat all your meal, your Dad would say "Eat it up there are thousands starving in Africa". Even after all these years there still are!!
There are so many ways that you can help us. 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. We also intend to grow fruit and vegetables to feed the children.We hope, in time, to try and be mostly self sufficient.
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.
Grandpa Yaa donates 4 Acres of his land to the charity.
