September/October 2008
Outings and visitors
September and October were busy months for the children of Thomas Barnardo House.
A Talent Show took place on September 1st, where the children sang songs, performed skits and poems and took part in a fashion show.
On September 6th, 20 children went to Phoenix to watch a play, whilst another group was rewarded for good character and performance with a swim at Village Market.
Kwetu Home of Peace invited the children to spend the day on September 20th, and Kariobangi Youth visited the home. Helen Mtawali and her team have also been visiting on Tuesdays to teach the children some songs and dances.
A day at the Arboretum
On October 10th, all the children enjoyed a visit to Nairobi Arboretum, where they played games including football and skipping, enjoyed a walk around the grounds and had a picnic. The sun was shining as they tucked into a tasty lunch and sodas with staff and volunteers.
Swim time!
The children were lucky enough to enjoy another trip this month, this time to Sadili Oval in Langa'ta on October 18th. Once again the sun was out and the kids had great fun swimming and playing. The lunch treat was greatly enjoyed after a tiring day in the water! Thanks to Catriona McLean and David Taylor for organising this outing.
Giving thanks
October came to an exciting close with the 5th Annual School Thanks Giving Service and Prayers for Candidates. The service, which is held in the third school term of Jonathan Gloag Academy every year, saw the Pre-Unit pupils (five to six-year-olds) graduate to Class 1. They were awarded certificates. Prayers were also said for the 42 Class 8 candidates, and thanks given for the year’s blessings. There were 69 graduands this year, and the class 8 pupils were commissioned as the 5th group of Jonathan Gloag Academy Ambassadors. The Presiding Minister was Reverend Ken Kimiywe, of Nairobi Pentecostal Church.
New school building in Suswa
In the past few months, we played host to five Rotary Mission Challenge teams who came from overseas and participated in the construction of a school building for Soila Maasai Girls Centre, in Suswa. The school is nearing completion. The project is a joint effort between Rotary Mission Challenge, including Rotarians and friends from throughout the UK, and Balcraig Foundation.
Final touch-ups to the building should be completed by November 25th when the last Rotary Mission Challenge team will return to the UK. Special thanks go to team leader Harry Nash for all his hard work and organisation.
Guests and volunteers
Many visitors have taken the time to see around the home and meet some of the children, including employees of KLM and Carolyn Glover and friends, from Canada. Thanks to them for their kind donations and interest in the home.
A number of volunteers arrived at the home from all over the world including Canada and Ireland, and the then-host, Nick Milligan, returned to Scotland at the end of September after doing a great job for four months.
One of our volunteers from Bank of Scotland, Ricky Munday, along with friends Ally Maclay and Ian Mackay, organised the ‘Kilts 2 Kenya African 3 Peak Challenge’ to raise money. They climbed Mount Stanley, Mount Kenya and Mount Kilimanjaro in 3 weeks. Their blog and photographs from the trip are at www.kilts2kenya.com. Many thanks for their impressive fundraising efforts.