Issue 22, Octobre 2015

Happy Home Orphanage is a non-profit organization created in June 2006 and administered by volunteers from Kenya, Canada and Belgium. Happy Home is located in Southwestern Kenya about 400 km from Nairobi, near the town of Migori. The project is funded by individuals and organizations from Kenya, Canada, Belgium and the USA.

The first 12 children arrived in November 2006. Today, Happy Home cares for 31 children. We are proud that 20 among them are currently in secondary school and prof. training and 2 are about to graduate.

Our aim is to help orphans and vulnerable children by providing them a nurturing family in which to grow. A safe shelter, good nutrition, health services, strong education and loving caretakers are our keystones to prepare them for a brighter future. We believe it is important for the children to grow up in their own culture with their own community. To that end, we recruit staff from the area, send the children to a local school and encourage them to visit their extended family during school holidays.

The children are happy to see each other back

after a year in Secondary school

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Dear Happy Home friends,

In one year from now, Happy Home will celebrate its 10th anniversary. Some of our children arrived in Happy Home came as young as 5 years old and are now already tall and strong adolescents. While some started in nursery school, many of them are now proud to study in secondary school and, if all goes well, two kids are graduating from Secondary and professional training this December. In the coming two years, the structure of Happy Home will consequently gradually evolve. While in the past we had all children at home full time, we now remain with only 11 kids at home as the 20 eldest kids are boarding in various secondary schools. This year in December, one more kid will participate to the national exam after completing the eight years of primary school. This “KCPE” exam (Kenya Certificate of Primary Education) of the Ministry of Education is very important as the results determine in which school the child might be accepted for secondary or professional training. (Note that in Kenya you can’t choose your secondary school but you are “called” at a school depending on your primary school final exam results)

In consequence, we are gradually reducing our staff structure in the home. Three staff left the home this year, and with time, the happy home will be physically empty and the few remaining staffs will follow-up the children in the different boarding schools. Another (major) consequence is that our cost structure drastically increased this year 2015. Indeed, Secondary school fees in Kenya are very high. Luckily, as all caring parents do, we were able to save over the years some funds from casual donations, which allow us to cover part of that increase in expenses.

Nevertheless, we’ll have to organise large fundraising campaign this year 2016 aiming to finance schoolfees. If you have time and would like to help us on that, please contact us isabelle@happyhomekenya.org. We’ll need volunteers to organise events, experts to create a new website, to renew the design of our newsletter, translators (English – French – Dutch), experts to create marketing fiches, to write messages and contact Foundations, photo-video experts to go to Kenya and shoot quality pictures and make a new promotion video about the home, etc. We’ll keep you all informed about the details. Best greetings and many thanks to you all for having helped us to make this possible The Happy Home Board

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Overview of the number of children in secondary school

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

Children in Home (primary) Children in Secondary Form 4 Graduates

Year entered secondary school jan 2012 jan 2013 jan 2014 jan 2015

Number of children 2 2 6 10

Year expected to complete secondary dec 2015 dec 2016 dec 2017 dec 2018

TYPE OF

SCHOOL

NAME OF SECONDARY

SCHOOL

District Mukuyu Evance Susan Kihungu

Elizabeth Jotham

District Kamsaki girls Aska

District Uruba girls Benta

Elivar

Faith

Joyline

County school Kanyawanga Duncan

County school Kadika girls Night

County school Rapogi boys Peter

County school Lydia

Rose

County school Anjego mix Collins

Provincial Migori Ojwaya

Provincial Pe hill Levis

Provincial Dede girls Marcy

Polytechnic Edwin

St-Albert Ulanda girls

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Aug.-Sept. 2015: Secondary School kids are home for summertime The following stories were sent to us by our social worker, manager and volunteers aunty ANIA and RONIA. Thanks you so much!

Secondary School holidays in late August The Secondary schools closed for the last two weeks of August. The children stayed in Happy Home for one week, then we allowed them to go to their relatives in their home villages for another week (uncles, aunties, grandparents, etc.). During the week they went to visit their families, the social worker visited most of the homes to see how the children were doing. She was happy to see them help their relatives in the fields during that week, as farming is an important skill that will help them in their adult life.

Secondary School Teachers on strike, the kids could stay longer at Happy Home The schools were supposed to open on 31.08.2015 for the third term session of the year (note that in Kenya, the school year starts in January and ends in December). Unfortunately, the teachers strike started nationally so there was no teaching in all the secondary schools in Kenya nationally. The high-school children could not leave to their boarding schools and stayed at the orphanage for the whole month. In their free time they used to study in order to be prepared when they could return to their schools. The Primary School children were able to go to their school, because it is a private school and joined the others to study after school.

Social worker : “During the one week when they were very helpful to the younger kids and caretakers. They even participated to the yearly thorough cleanup of the home and compound. I felt very impressed since they deliberately helped the younger kids wash-up all their blankets and sheets and clean the compound.”

Social worker : ““I was proud to see that all the children know how to do the work required in the field and home: ploughing with oxen, weeding fields, cooking food, etc.”

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Our volunteers Ania and Ronia with the elder Happy Home Secondary school girls

Volunteers : “When there was time for games we went with the children for nature walks, listened to music and they thought us Kenyan songs. Also the girls prepared themselves for a football match against other girls from the town. They were practising a lot and played a good game. Faith even made a goal for the orphanage girls.”

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Very special visitors in Happy Home: Prisoners and policeman Another particular event in the last months was the visit from some prisoners and several prison officers to the orphanage. They talked with the children about peer pressure and how important it is to listen to teachers and the persons in the orphanage. The prisoners told their stories and inspired the children a lot to choose the right paths in the future. They also brought presents for the children, like for example clothes, food (bags of maize and beans), soap, some clothes and sweets.

Group picture of the orphans in school uniform and the

visitors from the prison

Happy Home Manager : The food brought by the visitors helped us pass through the month, as the unexpected presence of the Secondary school children at home for such a long time left a heavy burden on the food stock. Many thanks to god for the kindness the prison team has given us.

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Issue 22, Oct 2015

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