Just returned from visiting our program in Kenya...

I was thrilled to be able to return to the GOF orphanage in Watamu, Kenya, this month, to visit with the children and see first hand the results of our work there.
Many of the children were visiting their "home" communities when I arrived. The Kenyan government asks that all orphanages arrange for the children in their care to make regular visits to the communities in which they lived before entering the orphanage, if this is possible. In this way, children can maintain ties to extended family or other members of the village, even if there is no-one in the community who can take care of them on a more permanent basis. This adds to their sense of belonging, and provides a place where they can go when they "graduate" from the orphanage and are able to support themselves. Despite this, many of the children who found sponsors this year through the Children's Bridge Foundation were there, and I was able to visit with Justus,  Juliet and Zabibu, three charming young people who are excited to be able to attend the Sawa Sawa Academy.

The younger children were keen to show me their updated schoolrooms in the orphanage, and rhymed off the alphabet and their numbers with great enthusiasm. We provided two teachers to staff the little school this year, which has clearly been a positive addition to these little learners!

I also met the newest arrival - a perfect, beautiful little girl, only a few weeks old. So many sad stories that brought these children here, but hopefully happy endings for all of them!

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