The month of October kicked off in fine style at Thomas Barnardo House as a group of 30 children headed up country to the village of Kandara for a visit to another orphanage. The main purpose of the visit was a return football match against the Kandara team, who TBH lost to some months back in Nairobi.
This time the TBH team was determined to right the wrongs of that day and we are pleased to say they did, winning 3-2 in an incredibly close and hard-fought match. We got off to a great start with a goal in under a minute from Francis Wachira but Kandara hit back three minutes later to draw level. We then found ourselves trailing 15 minutes into the game as our defenders misjudged a long ball that the Kibera striker fired home.
It wasn’t until just after half time that we scored our second goal as Francis bagged a brace with a powerful shot into the Kandara net. Time was ticking away but TBH converted a great free kick with ten minutes to go to lead 3-2. We held on and proudly lifted the trophy. It was a fantastic day out and the children from the two homes mixed well with each other.
The first day of the month also brought the largest outside catering job the TBH Westminster Event Centre has ever handled. The occasion was the 20th anniversary dinner for the St George’s School in Nairobi. Some 2000 guest attended the sit-down meal at the school and were very pleased with the service provided by our team. On top of the dinner, the first weekend of the month also brought two weddings and a seminar at the home. It was certainly a busy weekend but the Westminster staff carried it off in fine style.
Thomas Barnardo House made some new international friends in early October as teacher Lizi Hartley from Ascham School in Australia and her brother James arrived. They brought with them a very generous donation including some pillows for the children. Their grandfather was involved in the setting up of this home in the 1960s. We hope to continue our new found friendship with them.
The football team carried on their winning form the following week as they took on a local boys team from near-by Strathmore. The match was held at TBH and the home advantage proved important as our boys pulled out a 5-1 victory. Man of the match was undoubtedly David Maina from House 7 who scored four fantastic goals, including a superb curling free-kick. The team was delighted with their effort and are looking forward to the next match.
The month brought a group of very good friends to TBH. The group of fundraisers from Scotland had come to see how the money they had raised at home was being put to use. One of the major contributions they had made was the new basketball court at the home so while they were here we held the official opening ceremony followed by a match between the older children and the volunteers. The whole home came to watch, sing songs and cheer for the two teams, spurring the TBH team on to victory.
The group took great interest in all the projects taking place at TBH and offered sound advice wherever they could. Their visit was followed by another as a group of staff from Kelvinside Academy in Glasgow arrived towards the end of the month. They are sponsoring TBH’s latest commercial venture, the Kelvin Loaf bakery project, which we launched while the group was in Nairobi. The project aims to bring money into the home through the sales of bread and cakes to the local community.
The Kelvinside group also attended the Jonathan Gloag Academy Prayer Day for the Class 8 pupils who will be sitting their final national exams in November before graduating to secondary school. In the evening TBH held a special dinner for the group with all the home’s children, followed by a disco in the hall. The group also spent a lot of time at the school and even took a few lessons with the pupils.
The month ended as busily as it started with a trip to the Phoenix Theatre for a performance of the comedy play ‘Forever Young’. The final Sunday in October was a day of double celebration for our church, Nairobi Chapel. We celebrated the church’s first birthday and saw several of our children baptised in the name of the Lord. The church held a fun day in the afternoon which all the children thoroughly enjoyed.
October was also filled with festivities at the home as 15 children celebrated their birthdays. The month saw Pauline (House 6) turn 16; Sabina (House 1) turn 15; Judy (House 6), Mark (House 1) and Stephen (House 6) all turn 14; twins Boniface and Anthony (both House 9) turn eight; Eugene (House 3) and Evelyn (House 8) turn seven; Purity (House 6) turn six; Hellen (House 2) and Joseph (House 6) turn five; Kevin (House 7) and Catherine (House 1) turn four; and finally Baby Christine (House 2) celebrate her first birthday. Happy birthday to all!
Finally, the numbers in House 9 are again on the increase with the arrival of brothers Peter (9) and Simon (6). The pair are settling in well to Barnardos life as Mom Jacqueline explained: “All my children are quite new because House 9 only opened recently but they’re all doing very well. They get on with each other and help out with all the chores.
“Peter and Simon are doing very well too and have settled in nicely. They really feel at home. They are excited about everything because they came from a rural area where there is no electricity so they like to touch the light switches and want to know how everything works!”
Back to topSeptember took the Thomas Barnardo children back to school for the final term of the school year. This is an extremely important term, especially for the Class 8 pupils who will sit their final exams in early November. The results will determine their acceptance into their chosen secondary schools in January.
The big news at TBH in September was the completion of the new nursery extension and refurbishment. The babies were moved back in to their new home and really seem to be flourishing in the spacious and colourful environment.
Our new nursery supervisor, Damarice, is very pleased. She said: “The new nursery is very good. We have more room than before with a new kitchen and play room as well as a much larger bathing area. We are very happy here.”
With the babies back in the nursery, the children from House 6 have moved into their new home (which provided temporary housing for the babies while the nursery was being renovated). House 6 have been joined by their new upstairs neighbours House 9, boosting the capacity of TBH to nine houses. House 9 are in the capable hands of Mom Jacqueline.
September brought many visitors including Heather MacNiven and Melanie McLaughlan all the way from Scotland to TBH. Heather and Melanie work for Scottish-based computer firm Sumerian Networks and were here to see how valuable funds they’d help raise were being put to use. The children love visitors popping in and gave Heather and Melanie a warm reception.
TBH also took part in a local initiative to help beautify and bring cheer to Nairobi’s Kenyatta National Hospital. The initiative involved many schools and homes in the city designing and constructing their own mosaics based on African life. The finished mosaics were hung around the hospital and opened to the public during a ceremony on Saturday 9th of September. Our resident artist Richard Otieno (17) led the project from an artistic point of view and made a superb job of the mosaic depicting rural life in Kenya.
Elsewhere around the home, the Unity School of Hair and Beauty returned for another fun afternoon of braiding, pedicures, manicures and music with the children. It was the college’s second visit to TBH and the children are keen to make it a regular occurrence, having thoroughly enjoyed themselves once again with the students.
Nairobi’s Phoenix Theatre invited the children to two separate performances during September. The first was a performance entitled ‘Man Equals Man’ and came in the second week of the month before the last day of September brought a play by the name of ‘Mirandolina’. The 40 children who attended the performances spoke very highly of the two trips.
The new basketball court is nearing completion with the surface laid and the end nets erected. The finishing touches are being applied at the moment with the lines marked out ready for painting and the beginnings of the outside netting ready to be lifted into place.
It was another busy month for the Westminster Events Centre as well with every weekend booked out for functions. We held five weddings in the picturesque grounds at the home, hosted a seminar in the hall and provided catering for an outside event. Bookings are coming in thick and fast for the popular venue and 2007 is already shaping up to be a busy year.
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