Life is a journey that has its own ups and downs and every individual need to plan ahead then pray to the Almighty to give you strength and courage to fulfil what you aspire to do. 2018 is already here and as they say, “time fliesâ€, soon we will be summarising it up! Every year we do have our hopes and aspirations which are always diverse and can be personal but here I will focus on my aspirations and hopes in relation to helping children at GLO and SBM and all the other capacities that I serve within this scope.
The Good Life Orphanage as an institution will soon be celebrating a decade of existence and a lot of progress has been experienced over the years. Sincerely, all praises go to the Almighty and the wonderful people who have always been there whenever we need them. Everyone at GLO is looking forward to this big day and we all hope that it will be a very special celebration which will add more strength and belief that everything is possible seeing the far we have come along. It’s hard to believe that Naomi Paolo along with Roisin & Kay became part of the GLO Family nearly ten years ago.
All the children are growing older every year and right now we have a group of energetic and responsible preteens and teenagers. For the first time, we will have three children from the orphanage sitting for their KCPE exam, Precious, Ali & Caleb. This is a great step that we are all happy about and our hope is for them to score good marks that will enable them get chances to join high school. We will as a team offer what is expected of us to ensure they achieve their full potential and are successful like Rachael who has joined Form 1 at Ribe Girls High School in January this year.
Last year majority of the staff both at GLO and SBM attended a week long intense counselling training course, I believe each one of us gained new knowledge, not forgetting that it was also an excellent refresher to some. Training is very vital for the growth of any organisation and I do hope we will carry that to 2018 and offer opportunities to our staff to add more knowledge on child protection. I am aware there is no perfect parent but the more enlightened one is, the easier it becomes to execute and perform different roles whether as a caregiver or any other staff member dealing with the children.
As an institution dealing with children of different backgrounds is not easy and challenges will always be there but what matters most is how we respond. We will never cease to have a category of children with behavioural problems as this has always been a challenge over the years for many children’s homes. However, I believe if the entire lot of staff remain committed to work and adhere to the principle of using supervision to protect children accordingly, then I am certain such issues can be minimised to a greater extent.
Regarding our SBM School, there are a lot of changes coming with the introduction of the new education system and as expected there are going to be a number of challenges. My hope is that all the stakeholders involved (trustees, teachers, parents & parents) will continue to work jointly no matter what and overcome these challenges based on the way they will be coming. As they say teamwork makes the dream work!!
It’s also worth noting here that over the years we have been receiving volunteers from all around the globe and we do hope even in 2018 we will receive many more who will selflessly share with us their expertise. 2018 has commenced with one of the most active volunteers in our history, Kate is a qualified Yoga Teacher among a range of activities she is experienced in, a wonderful chance for our special needs children to try different types of therapy.
In conclusion, the growth and development of an institution doesn’t solely depend on an individual but rather the dedication of the entire team. I aspire to offer my expertise at any level whenever required and execute my roles according to my full ability. The current team we have both at GLO & SBM is well equipped and I urge all my colleagues to continue working together for the best interest of the children. God bless you all as we tirelessly work with enthusiasm, energy and effort to achieve our 2018 plans.
