Accommodation

Welcome to Double Joy!

As you come through the gates the office is on your right. This is the first port of call for visitors. It was built as part of Mary’s house and is the centre of a great deal of activity.

As you leave the office and head into our compound our small hospital is just ahead of you. The hospital consists of two rooms, one is used by an auxiliary nurse as a clinic, to treat people in the local community, the other functions as a ward where the children stay to convalesce during bouts of illness.

The school and workshops

On your left you’ll see a long building which is our school consisting of 10 classrooms and three workshops. The workshops are for carpentry, bicycle repair and tailoring.

The children’s living area

At the far side of Double Joy we have the children’s houses. We now have eleven children’s houses built gradually over a period of three years. The original children arriving at Double Joy stayed in temporary (mud) houses. Now all our children live in concrete houses which they are very proud of. Concrete houses are much safer as they are fire resistant and much less dusty than the temporary houses.

The children’s houses have been built as one long terrace block facing away from our compound so that they have a spacious view looking out on the surrounding land.

Each house has three rooms- two bedrooms and a living area. There are eight children living in each house, four boys share one bedroom, four girls have the other. Brothers and sisters occupy the same house with the aim of keeping families together as much as possible. There are two older boys living in a separate house.

The pit latrines and washing area are found a short distance from the houses. This is typical of a Kenyan home in this rural area.

A communal kitchen is used by the older children to cook the meals for their household. Cooking by the children is supervised by staff.

Other buildings and shambas

Completing the circuit you will pass another block including store rooms, the cooks kitchen and offices. Further on you will see the animal pens for cows, sheep and hens and shambas where children grow food.

The guest house is at the far end of DJ, along with a row of staff houses. The staff who have families and young children often chose to live in DJ, especially if their own homes are a few kilometres away. Having staff houses on site also makes the compound more secure at night.

In the centre of DJ there is a play and assembly area.

Electricity supply

For 10 years Double Joy had no access to an electricity supply. However, a government-subsidised mains electricity supply is currently being connected.

This will have great benefits, as it will allow electric lighting in the evenings (it is dark by 7pm all year round). It will also made possible a fridge in the clinic for storage of medicine, as well as one in the kitchen for keeping milk. The children will have access to television for the first time and the office will have computers, with which the children will be able to learn IT skills.

Facilities for visitors

Double Joy has a guesthouse with two bedrooms, (bunk beds in each), large sitting room, kitchen and toilet/washing area. Water, for cooking and washing, is brought in buckets from the tank and is a scarce resource. Electricity is 240 volts and uses British Standard plugs, and, due to intermittent power cuts, there is solar backup lighting. There is a two-ring gas stove and an electric grill for cooking. Mosquito nets and bedding are provided. The kitchen is fully equipped with pots, pans and utensils. The facilities, though basic, are luxurious by rural Kenyan standards.