Wednesday 26 August 2015

Our school ambition for generations of children

All our regular followers will know the race is on to  raise the money to finish, furnish and resource our secondary school ready for the start of the 2016 academic year in January.
In three weeks we have already topped the first £3,000 of our £25,000 Building a Bright Future Appeal target, but there is still a long way to go.
But we are absolutely determined to do it, and know that you, our amazing friends, will help us in every way you can.
The secondary school is already half built and is on the same site, a short walk from Happy House, as our kindergarten and primary school which relocated there at the start of 2015.
The land was bought with money raised by a dinner at the Harrodian School, London, organised by Charlotte Poulter and Saskia Flower, who were then students there.
This week I am seeing the schools for the first time, writes Elizabeth Gomm.
They are much bigger and better than any pictures or video I have seen, and the kids absolutely love being there as my group of tour guides told me!
They are fair bursting with pride as they escort me first to the kindergarten and then to the primary school.
The classrooms are roomy,  a gentle breeze blows through. The breeze and the makuti roof, make it so much  easier for the children to stay alert and to concentrate in lessons.
The primary school on two floors, is impressive.  The dining banda, which can also be used for assemblies, special events and assemblies, is central.
The first phase of the secondary school is complete. It comprises of an office, library and computer room which are also in use by the lower schools. The laboratory, which is a requirement for every secondary school, remains a shell. It was built with money donated by Blackpool Soroptimist International’s Christine Walker Memorial Fund, but we do not yet have the funds to furnish and equip it. That is part of our current Building a Bright Future Appeal.
If we could just get in another £5,000 we would resume building work straight away.
Anyone seeing the Happy House knows that Mama Sue is a woman who has a vision and works tirelessly to make it a reality. 
 The schools, like her Happy House, are her vision – the pictures in her head that  come together so beautifully in bricks and mortar. Sue is resourceful in every sense of the word, and she and Papa, who negotiates the best price on all the materials, are a team to be reckoned with.
Along with Uncle Billy and all their team they are making a better world for children in need.
Our school gives our kids, who have come to us with nothing but sadness in their hearts, a chance to have an education of the highest standard.  They grasp the opportunity with an enthusiasm you rarely see in countries where education is taken for granted.
What we are building here, is not just for children now but for many, many, more over many years to come.  If you donate, say £5, today, you can look back in 10, 20 or even 50 years time, knowing that a new generation of children will be benefiting from your gift.
If you can help in anyway – a church collection, a coffee morning, girls’ night in, tea party, or by going without a treat and donating the money instead – please do. 
You can donate online at:  http://campaign.justgiving.com/charity/childrenofwatamu/brightfuture
Their future is in our hands.