This Christmas is going to be different for everyone across the globe. The staff in our homes are working tirelessly to make sure the children enjoy Christmas, even if it will be quieter than previous years, without the usual celebrations and visits from volunteers and supporters.
To help make Christmas that bit better we are asking for donations for our staff this year. The Covid-19 pandemic has had an enormous impact on our homes and the teams running them. The restrictions have prevented volunteers from coming into the homes and schools have been shut, meaning the workload has increased significantly. The staff have been going above and beyond what we would normally ask of them.
Going above and beyond
For example, whenever new babies are brought into the homes they have to be quarantined for 14 days, of course we need members of staff to isolate with them. This means that those staff going into quarantine are having to stay away from their own homes and families and are putting themselves at a potential risk of catching Covid. We thank God that all the babies and staff who have gone through quarantine have come out Covid free and pray that this will continue.
We are grateful that we have been in a position to set up quarantine units in each home, utilising whatever space is available. In Nairobi, this is a separate, adjacent house; in Kisumu this is an upstairs unit with its own entrance; the quarantine unit in Nakuru is housed in a guest house; and our home in Nyeri is using accommodation with no outdoors access. Since January we have taken in over 60 babies in need.
Three of the team at Nyeri have now volunteered 3 times in a row to go into the quarantine unit at their site. We are indebted to all our amazing staff for their commitment and dedication. Especially, as we are not in a position to be able to give them extra pay for going into isolation with the babies.
Also with many schools still remaining closed, those staff with school-age children are having to provide meals for their children at home, adding an extra cost that they are having to cover.
Show your support
We would therefore like to honour and show our thanks to all the staff working for New Life Home Trust by providing gifts to support them and their families this Christmas. Please help us thank our staff for their continued hard work and dedication by donating today giving the reference Staff Thank You.
Thankfully throughout the crisis our homes have been receiving donations from local communities including vital food supplies such as rice, sugar, and flour. We have also received three months’ worth of nappies and money to buy Christmas gifts for the children from the charity One Child, for which we are filled with gratitude.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Philippians 4:6