Visitors to Double Joy: Glyn's visit

Glyn visited Double Joy in 2001, and wrote a report for the 2001 newsletter. This page contains some of the details of his visit. He also wrote a description of the daily routine at Double Joy.

The journey

The journey to Double Joy was very smooth and in three stages: firstly a direct overnight flight of 11 hours, landing in Nairobi at 7am. Secondly an internal flight of one hour, landing in Kisumu at 11am. And thirdly, being met by Mary at the small airport to drive us out to Double Joy.

Immediately on arrival in Nairobi we were met by lovely sunny weather and temperatures in the mid-twenties. We stayed the afternoon in Kisumu, spending our first few hours taking in the colourful sights and sounds of Kenyan city life. After this brief first step of acclimatisation we headed off on the 2-hour drive into the rural province of Uyoma.

Leaving the tarmac road at the small town of Bondo, we proceeded for 30 minutes on stony roads, stopping at a place called the "bridge". Here we made minor repairs to the muddy road, placing stones in the deep ruts to allow our vehicle to pass. Soon we arrived at the market of Aram, and leaving the road at the large water tank, proceeded 500m down a one-lane track to arrive at the gates of Double Joy Children's Farm.

On my first evening I was taken on a round of all the children's houses, to meet some of the children. The following morning brought more formal introductions at the 8am morning parade. All of the children gather for roll call and are handed over from the houseparent staff to the teachers.

To help me remember some of the children's names, I had brought some pin-on name labels, and over the next day or two we went round to all of the classes and helped the children to write their names on them. They were proudly worn, and for the remainder of our visit we could then greet each child by name. We found ourselves recognising more and more each day.

Introducing Edwin

Naturally the youngest child tends to be remembered and gain affections in one's thoughts. And so it was with a little 4-year-old boy called Edwin, and more so when I was told of his story. He was taken in to Double Joy in the autumn of 2000 suffering from severe malnutrition. Unable even to stand up, and with his legs and feet under-developed, he was in a very miserable state. 

It has been five months since his arrival, and although he still shows the signs of his previous neglect, with constant care he is making steady progress. He has been fitted for a toddler's bicycle, one which he can exercise without having to support the weight of this body.

Edwin now appears to be more confident of his future. There is often a sparkle in his eyes, even if he feels unable to smile and laugh as the other children so easily do.

Not only can he now stand, but he can also walk slowly, usually under the watchful eye of Caroline and Janet, the healthcare staff who are never far away from him. We are hopeful that no permanent damage will have resulted to his development.

Edwin's older sister is about 7 years old, and she will often help to care for him, for example bathing him from a bowl during the morning wash.

The enormous changes since my last visit

It has been six years since my last visit, and at that time the staff numbered just 3, there were no children yet and only one building had been completed.

The development since then has grown to include 12 children's houses, about 8 staff houses, with water tanks and toilet blocks, a school block with 10 classrooms, three workshops, two offices and a staff room, a big assembly hall, store rooms, kitchens and most recently a comfortable guest house that sleeps about 4 people.

This is a marvellous work to have given your friendship to, and we will never be able to quantify the seeds of hope, joy and goodness that have been planted in a small corner of Kenya.

Evening entertainments

On the third night of my visit we were treated to a lovely evening of entertainment. A group of about a dozen girls sing in a choral fashion, with a single individual leading in a bold voice with a line that the others respond to in unison. With the dancing and the drumming worked in, the effect is impressive. Particularly in this case, as the leader was a smaller girl who danced and sang with a feisty and confident attitude.

The boys were a group of about six who clearly involved showing off, adding to their movements a sense of humour that reduced us all to laughter. This was increased when they caught me mimicking some of their gestures, while seated in front. The children get real enjoyment from seeing a playful response to their performance, rather than restrained adult behaviour. They like to know we are human and can join in with the fun.

At the end of the evening on or two of the staff suggested that we might like to lay on some entertainment for the following evening. So we spent the next day working on some ideas, part of which was a drama based on characters from different countries of the world. One of my characters was an Indian Yogi. I managed to perform several balancing postures, finishing with a head stand for one minute. For the remainder of my stay of would find children at odd times trying to copy these movements. During one football game we saw one of the goal keepers trying to do a headstand.