Spending Christmas in Kenya is very different to here in the UK & Ireland, firstly the sun is shining and secondly Father Christmas does not often visit, it must just be too hot for the Rudolph, but that does not stop everyone celebrating the birth of Jesus to their best ability. At The Good Life Orphanage this year we were blessed as one visitor in early December made a donation towards our Christmas Day Celebrations (Thank You Gaby) and then Katie Ellwood emailed me to say that instead of buying Christmas Presents this year she was making a donation to our Christmas Day Celebrations. We are so grateful for these two most generous people as we did really overstretch it this year.
After visiting Malaezi Girls Home a few weeks before we discovered eight girls living there who were related to children at the GLO and it was decided that if the relevant authorities gave the go ahead the girls could spend a week with their siblings at the GLO. Also Collins & Racheal’s younger brother Derick and Annie’s sister Margaret Shiro wanted to come for Christmas as well so we ended up with another ten mouths to feed and find a Christmas Present for!!

Annie & her sister Margaret Shiro

Over the past twelve months with the help of Margaret, Helen, Damien, Malita & Joe here in Ainsworth we have been sorting through all the very generous donations of clothes, shoes, toys and books received and managed to get a “new outfit” for each child and a Christmas Present, our volunteers who visited over the past six months brought out wrapping paper and gift tags and Mercy & Dorothy made sure everything was ready in preparation for Christmas Day.

 Rukia 13 yrs &  Halima 12 yrs sisters of Abdallah,Hamisi,Salimu and Saumu

Our own Wise Man arrived on Christmas Eve, Alan Coyne made the trip down from Nairobi to spend Christmas at the GLO, in honour of Alan the Mamas & Aunites made sure his favourite dish of Matoke & Potatoes were on the menu along with Chicken and Pilau. They all worked to make sure the Christmas Day Celebrations went like clockwork and both the children & the staff felt very much part of the much extended GLO Family. Every single child and member of staff got a present, all donated by our very charitable supporters in 2011 !!

Christmas Dinner

The children who visited were all very well mannered and really appreciated the effort that everyone made to welcome them and make them feel at home. We find it difficult to understand why siblings are separated when parents die but as long as there are Girl/Boy only homes this is going to happen but just to see them reunited over this very special time of year is very heartwarming. Everyone over the past year who has supported our project made this possible, you cannot comprehend what a difference these visits have made to both our own children at the GLO and their siblings.

Happy Christmas @ GLO

As Kevin & myself came back to the UK to celebrate Christmas we left the project in the very capable hands of Mercy, yet again she has amazed us with her organisational skills and the sheer amount of hardwork Mercy, Dorothy and each & every member of staff at the GLO are prepared to do just to make these children have a better life is unbelievable, it is indeed the true meaning of Christmas.

Lawrence getting stuck in