Today was the third time the riders from Fun and Thrills feted the children at the National Children's home for Christmas.
Our association with that organisation established by the Methodist church for unwanted and handicapped children, started some four years ago and quite by accident. We used to ride by the home on Saturday mornings on our way to breakfast and Charles ( Williams) came up with the idea of us doing something for them. We made an approach to Mr. Anderson, the man in charge, and he said he could initiate a programme to take the kids riding in Hope Gardens as something for them to work towards. So we fixed the two bicycles they had there and begged some others. Howie made a bicycle rack at his workplace and it started from there.
On Saturday mornings we would take some of the well behaved ones for rides and drinks. Then that Christmas we took them breakfast.........lots of goodies and cake and sat down and ate with them.
Time flies quickly and today marked the third year and the best by far for Mr. Anderson gave a most moving speech on how our association with the kids had motivated them to excell and now they have even had a music section added to their activities.
Some the kids gave an impromptu concert,........ bongo drummers, harmonica players, one violinist and an excellent rendition of Bob Marley's "Everything's gonna be alright" was the chart topper. It was really wonderful and shows how well kids can respond and how quickly they learn when motivated. Some kids even presented some of us with hand made Christmas Cards and my godson Domique had brought along a gift which was won by one of the kids who answered a question posed by Charles, correctly. That litte intervention was fun too.
We learnt too that some of the girls from Glenhope Home are now at the National Chidren's home as there had been a fire at Glenhope recently and some kids were displaced.
It was really a refreshing morning for the kids and for us riders.
Our association with that organisation established by the Methodist church for unwanted and handicapped children, started some four years ago and quite by accident. We used to ride by the home on Saturday mornings on our way to breakfast and Charles ( Williams) came up with the idea of us doing something for them. We made an approach to Mr. Anderson, the man in charge, and he said he could initiate a programme to take the kids riding in Hope Gardens as something for them to work towards. So we fixed the two bicycles they had there and begged some others. Howie made a bicycle rack at his workplace and it started from there.
On Saturday mornings we would take some of the well behaved ones for rides and drinks. Then that Christmas we took them breakfast.........lots of goodies and cake and sat down and ate with them.
Time flies quickly and today marked the third year and the best by far for Mr. Anderson gave a most moving speech on how our association with the kids had motivated them to excell and now they have even had a music section added to their activities.
We learnt too that some of the girls from Glenhope Home are now at the National Chidren's home as there had been a fire at Glenhope recently and some kids were displaced.
It was really a refreshing morning for the kids and for us riders.
Jolly good show and I wish I could have been there.
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