13 March 2010 - 10 years Nice-View-Children’s-Village

Today, ten years ago, the first 8 children (Suleiman, Mwanasha big, Haji, Mwanahalima, Fatuma, Mwanasha small, Saumu and Salim) could be accommodated.

One of the conditions for getting a registration for a children’s home was that I (Gudrun Dürr) present everything myself to the Youth Welfare Office. This meant to polish up my English in the light of a kerosene lamp during the night. We had no power at that time. Also we had no car available and had to travel by share taxi: an adventure by itself.

Another challenge was to garner the village elders as members of the Nice View Committee which had to be founded. We were successful by promising that the first children that will be admitted are from the village, and the village elders could propose children. We did not expect was that there would be around 30 proposals. Together with the Youth Welfare Office we went to see the children to assess which children can stay with their families and which children indeed need help. This took us approximately 2 days, and in the end 8 children were remaining: twice as much as we had planned to accommodate in the beginning.

Luckily we had prepared more than 4 beds, but we did not have enough bedclothes and towels which I had to organize in Mombasa (around 65 kilometers from our home).

On 13 March 2000 finally the time had come. After almost half a year filled with construction work and countless visits to authorities, everything was done and prepared, and the first children were brought to Nice View. 

In the nearby hospital the children were examined first and tested on HIV. To our dismay a sole needle was used for taking blood samples – in between only barely sterilized. Fortunately all children were HIV negative and also healthy otherwise!

At the beginning the children were quite shy, and it was difficult to communicate. The children did not speak English, and I did not speak Kiswahili. During longish walks along the beach and when singing and dancing together we came slowly closer. Moreover in the beginning we always ate together. At the children’s request we had often spaghetti with sugar. Little by little we succeeded in replacing the sugar by tasty sauces and in putting other dishes on the bill of fare.

Back then one mother, supported by a cook and a household help, was sufficient to take care of the children. This is today not imaginable anymore.

Because now, 10 years later, 45 children live in our children’s villages, and it was possible to provide a loving home for in total 54 children. Further projects could be realized or are currently realized: school, kindergarten, farm, training center for carpenters, hospital. To get there was a difficult path, but the children gave us again and again the strength to carry on, and we would like to thank all our sponsors, supporters and friends for their trust and for remaining steadfastly at our side all these years:

“ONE MEMBER ALONE CAN NOT CARRY A ROOF” (quote from Africa)

Further pictures under "Gallery Impressions 2000"