What a week this has been – so much has happened that I have no idea where to start!
The Party
Our boys and girls all joined together on Sunday for the BEST party ever! I can’t begin to tell you just what that meant – 52 of the MOST damaged and traumatised children on the planet doing the things that children do – swimming, playing, dancing, football, eating … and totally but discreetly supported by our brilliant staff of 30. I was beyond emotional and hope they know how proud they should be of themselves. Watching our big boys catching one of our small girls as she tripped as she ran past and picking her up, gently and carefully, checking she was fine before returning to his dancing may not sound much but to me it was the world. Our dream is to have young people who can be loved and love, to be cared for and care – it’s all there right in front of our eyes.
I had some worries I have to admit – we have some beautiful young teenage ladies and some handsome young men in our houses and of course I know what teenagers are about, but they were respectful and wonderful together. I can breathe again!
One of the best moments was that the baker had been asked to make a cake saying ‘Happy Birthday Sarah’ to feed 50 people – he actually made a cake saying ‘Happy 50th Birthday Sarah”! Priceless!
Another great moment was when we gave then the lollies from a little lad Iggy in Australia who had set up his own lemonade stall and raised a fortune so they had so many lollies they felt sick – they sure did that Iggy!!!!
Thank you Sarah for your lovely birthday gift to Play Kenya.
Lauren’s Room
Two years ago the daughter of friends of ours, Lauren Patterson who was 24, was brutally raped and murdered in Qatar and it has been a horrific struggle for her lovely mummy Alison to get justice for Lauren. She has been back to Qatar so many times but the law there is a joke. She is fighting so hard for her daughter.
Lauren spoke to me a few years back about coming to Kenya to teach but eventually decided she would be safer in Qatar so didn’t come. She is an amazing young lady who had a heart of gold; she was bubbly, friendly, great with children – and it seems like the best friend anyone could have wanted. Her family and friends remain heart broken.
I can not and wouldn’t want to imagine the pain of losing your child and my heart breaks for Alison. There are simply no words that can show someone how deeply you feel for their life-long pain. I want Alison to know the world will remember her lovely daughter and so decided to celebrate her life in our small corner of the world at Rafiki Mwema. The similarities between Lauren and our girls was huge. There by the grace of god they survived their attacks and came to us.
When our new therapy room was built by The Byron Lighthouse run (amazing – thank you) I wanted to bring a loving kind and supportive energy to the room. A place the girls could feel loved and safe and watched over. So we decided to name the therapy room Lauren’s Room. A local artist painted a portrait of Lauren from her Mummy’s favourite picture and it hangs in our room, shinning down on our girls. The story of Lauren is so important and we have told the girls that she is their own Angel. They are shocked to know that ‘white girls’ are raped too as they believed it only happens in Kenya. Lauren’s story will live on in our project and we are honoured to have her watching our babies.
Thank you Alison for sharing Lauren with us
If you would like to help Alison in fighting for Justice for her baby please check her GoFundMe page here.
Telling the girls!
Oh my gosh – where do we even start with this! 33 girls all gathered at Doyle farm on Saturday. Our girls who are at boarding school were sad because it is the holidays and they either go home if it is safe, or they stay with us – but it’s VERY cramped! They asked if they could have house here – little did they know what was coming!
We thought the teenagers might be a bit reserved when we told them we had the money to build their house right here at Doyle Farm; we thought they might not get it when we told them that THOUSANDS of people around the world love and care about them and have raised enough money for us to start building NOW; we thought they might not feel the love that was being sent to them from all the Queens and Princesses and Kings and Princes around the world – WE THOUGHT WRONG!!!
They went CRAZY! They cheered for Constance Hall; they cheered for the Queen Castle and they loved being called little Queens. They asked a million questions about people around the world who were supporting them. They can’t believe that you all CARE about them soooo much. They can’t believe that they will move to Doyle farm soon.
Thank you all so much for everything you do for Play Kenya – you are beyond amazing. Every conversation you have about our charity; every post you like and share; every time you comment; every single penny you donate changes the lives of the girls and boys we support. Everything you do makes them more your family.
Thank you for caring xxxx
