The Good Life Orphanage

Good News from David in Kenya, the boundary wall is partly finished, there is water in the well & the foundations have just started for the first four bedroomed house. The reality is there are no minidiggers, no concrete mixers or boring machines, everything is done by hand. The boundary wall foundations were dug out by hand and all concrete mixed by hand. The blocks are cut out in the quarry from the coral by hand so everything is a very slow process but at least now the first house is started, keeping watching for a weekly update.

Each house will have a house parent and 6/8 children who will live within the project until they are 18 years old. We have approached various businesses in the area to link up and provide training for the children when they become teenagers. The children will then leave the project with a trade or profession such as joiners, bricklayers, hotel staff and dressmakers, so they can adapt to independent living and be self-sufficient.

We are hoping that over the next twelve months the funds can be raised to build an additional two houses, this means that by October 2008 there should be 24 happy children living at The Good Life Orphanage. If we have done our calculations properly it will cost £1.00 per day to feed, clothe, supervise & educate each child. It is unbelievable that this small amount can drastically change a life.

So on with the fund raising, £22k for each house, £2k to furnish & initial setup cost and a further £3k per annum to support the house parent & eight children.

Dreadful weather, watching the long-range weather forecast, when would we ever get doing the Car Boot. The garage is full, clothes, toys, DVDs, you name it, it is in our garage! Thank God, no rain for the next 24hrs, off we set, jeep loaded, two reluctant daughters & one sister trying to escape from her two hyper sons (yes we checked for the 666 mark on their heads) set off to Radcliffe Playing fields at 6.30am to make a fortune for the Good Life Orphanage.

Our nieces Olivia & Ellie gave all their toys, books & games – Crazy Coffee Bean Mick donated teapots, knives, spoons etc from a café that had closed down in the Lake District – and all our own bits & pieces. We thought our stall looked really good but boy were we in for a surprise! Yes that’s £5.00 – “No we will give you £1.00 for that”, this went on from 7.00am until 1.00pm, it was hard work, like trying to get blood out of a stone, but at the end we made £140.00 and my sister had a break from Devil Child 1 & 2 for the morning, and my daughters & I had some mother/daughter bonding.

What we have to remember the £140.00 will keep one of our orphans for 140 days in the orphanage, imagine that small amount making such a difference to one child’s life!