Three hundred homeless children recently enjoyed a treat to the circus, courtesy of the Grand Palm Peermont Hotel.
The Happy Home Botswana, run by Korean missionary couple Esther and David Su, opened its doors in 2003 for the homeless children in the Naledi area.
The ‘project’ started off as a feeding scheme at a local mall and soon grew to be a home where the children came to learn and experience the warmth of being in a home.
The couple came to Botswana 13 years ago and has since set their eye on improving the lives of the homeless children who were wandering the streets.
Esther explains that starting the feeding scheme was a calling she could not ignore.
“I used to see children hanging around the mall and that’s when it dawned on me that I had to do something. I couldn’t make a difference in these kids’ lives financially but I knew I could use my cooking talent to ensure that these kids had a decent meal,” she said.
The home has assured that the children were exposed to music, art sport and literature on a daily basis.
“Having focused on making sure my own son grew up surrounded by music, art and sport we realized that the children we were feeding did not have access to these things. It’s an important part of a child’s development so we decided to open the Happy Home Botswana and have not looked back since,” she added.
The organisation’s vision is “to foster holistic human development and upgrade the level of living of the poor through education, sport and to play a part at all levels of development”.
The fully-sponsored outing to the circus was organized by the Marketing Manager of the Grand Palm Hotel, Charne Christensen.
He told Sunday Standard that, “None of the kids had ever been to a circus and this gave us an opportunity to do something really special for them. What more could make children happier than sending them to the circus and giving them heaps of sweets as treats?”
Further to that, the Grand Palm, in partnership with Eventix, will sponsor a stand at the upcoming Outdoor Adventure Leisure Expo, which will take place in December at the Gaborone International Convention Centre at the Grand Palm. At the stand the children from Happy Home Botswana will be given the opportunity to sell their beautiful handmade Christmas cards and bookmarks.
More information and pictures of the children can be seen on: http://happyhomebotswana.shutterfly.com/
