January/February 2009 Diary
It has been a busy start to the New Year at Thomas Barnardos House. Many visitors have been to visit and the children begun their new year at school.
School Starts
First term commenced on January 6th 2009 with a lot of enthusiasm for both the primary school goers attending Jonathan Gloag Academy and the older children in Boarding Schools away from home.
Teens Volunteer and Community Service
As a show of Valentine on Saturday 14th February the teens at TBH took up different chores around the home to show gratitude to their mothers. They did a great job and left the compound looking clean and sparkling and their mothers were very happy.
House 6 and House 2 visited children’s homes for community service on Sunday 15th February. The objective was to help our children realise that there are other people in society that need help. They were able to contribute to the home by helping out with work and they took some of their own clothes to donate to the children.
Among the many groups that have visited us we had students from Braeburn School visit on the 7th February. They spent the day with the children and brought donations. Thank you to all involved.
Football
On TBH grounds we hosted a friendly football match between male staff and the students from Tool Bench. It was good fun for those involved and those watching. The end score was 4:2 to TBH staff members. Congratulations!
A friendly match was held at Riara school on Saturday 14th February for our football team. This was a Saturday treat which included mixed children from Jonathan Gloag Academy There were two matches with under 12’s and under 14’s. Well done to all those that were involved!
Mid-Term Break
On Friday 20th February the children were sponsored to travel to the Ngong Hills. They had a great time hiking up five of the seven hills enjoying the magnificent views and spending the day in the sun. The brave and adventurous children hiked until they could go no further. They walked into a forest where they saw a small lizard that was big enough to scare them back up the biggest hill. After the hike was over the fun continued. The children played games on the hill top with a beautiful view of The Great Rift Valley. All in all the children had a very active day, which both the children and the house mothers enjoyed. They all deserved a good sleep that night.
Expansion of Kitchen
We are very excited for the expansion of our kitchen which has been under construction over the past month. It was previously a small space for our cooks to work in but now with Balcraig Funding the expansion will enable much more space for our workers.
Turkey’s First Lady
Saturday 21st February was a big day for the children and staff at TBH. The First Lady of Turkey, Mrs H Gull made a very welcomed visit to the home. On hand to meet her and accompany her for the visit was Mrs Ida B Odinga wife of the Prime Minister and Board Members. The first Lady was given a tour of the grounds where she met the children and visited the babies in the nursery. At the end of her stay the older children at the home did a wonderful performance of dancing and singing. The first lady kindly donated clothes to the children, and they look very smart in their new outfits. We were delighted to have her visit us.