Blog

It's wonderful to have the opportunity to meet as a team outside the office. Even more special is a shared lunch for the birthday celebration of one of us. This week, our CEO, Miriam Lacho, is celebrating, and we wholeheartedly wish her many more years filled with contentment, laughter, love, and energy!

The lunch brought together the internal team with external colleagues, current employees with former ones. We’re sending warm greetings to dozens of other colleagues in various cities and countries, and we hope that there will be an opportunity for in-person meetings in their regions soon!

“I arrive at Praise Gate Children’s Home in Kenya after an hour drive from busy Nairobi streets and unpaved roads. Children with their excited eyes and huge smiles gather around to give me a hug. I am overwhelmed immediately. I step behind the fence and notice the smell of food being prepared for lunch on an open fire outside. In another space there are lots and lots of clothes hanging on a line outside – laundry day, I am told. I am invited to step inside and try to hide my shock of horror as I see where these children spend their days and nights. Dark gloomy space with couches that would not be taken by the homeless where I come from. No floors, just dirt. Two old tables where all children cram to learn and eat. I take a look at the rest of this steel-wall space (the type of steel that is used in construction to wall-off a location). Old-decrepit matrasses in cramped space of bunk beds one next to the other. No space for personal items, just some clothes on the bed. A hole in the floor as a toilet. No electricity, no refrigerator. I can’t possibly imagine staying here one night, let alone for months or years…

I am told that the rescued children from the streets who come here are ecstatic about having a bed to sleep on and a warm meal they do not have to fend for themselves on the streets… A small 3-year-old boy is the latest arrival – found crawling on the streets and near the garbage fending for food with no one to take care of him – so malnourished that he could not stand on his legs, could not walk… I see him wabbling on his two tiny skinny legs, so excited to move around on his own…. I hand out tennis balls, which become an instant hit for the afternoon…. All kids share and play outside. There is no conflict, no fending for self. The older kids take care of the younger, as if they were the mom and dad. Everyone shares. Such a different paradigm…. My eyes water, as I watch the scene in front of me and take it all in…

My daughter Leila visited 2 years ago and came back with the dream of building a new safe home for the 80 children living here. There was a pile of bricks close by with a foundation of a new building, which could not continue when the financing died during covid. The dream was to revitalize this project and bring it to its completion. During the last two years, we supported financially and gathered further support. It was unbelievable for me to see the entire construction finished and the interior almost finished, and with the money we sent through the Integra Foundation.

The children come to visit the building together with me and with happy eyes and their huge smiles they showed me around the new building, how a light comes on with a switch, how they will have a real bathroom, and in which space who will sleep. It is just amazing that the project is almost finished and that the children will move into this safe home this year. What is still needed is the outside kitchen with open fire (the way they are used to cook in Kenya), a safe fence around the property, emergency fire exit stairs on both sides of the building, and new bunk beds and matrasses for each child. This is what is separating the children from being able to move in. I hope and believe that enough support will be gathered in the next few months to be able to make this dream come true.

I am so grateful to be able to help and support this project thanks to our clients who pay for our services, which enable us to give back and make a difference. Together, we are changing lives and giving these children a better childhood and a hopeful future – and empowering them to make a difference in Kenya.

Would you like to sponsor a bed for a child in this new Children’s Home? Visit https://bit.ly/NaDetskyDomov to make a donation.”   

Miriam Lachová, CEO

Human Dynamic Europe

Did you hear about the Praise Gate project, which we are passionately supporting for the past two years? We are building an orphanage in Nairobi for almost 100 children who would otherwise spend their childhood on the streets or in unsafe temporary shelters. Apart from our direct financial support, our last two benefit charity concerts were devoted to this cause – events that inspired many of our clients and partners to get involved as well. Thanks to this collective effort, we've made huge progress:

 All windows installed together with metal protectors,
electricity and water connected and fully operational,
walls plastered and ready for painting,
floor prepped for tiling,
excavation work for the waste system (biodigester), painting of the exterior and interior.

The next phase of interior work is before us: tiling, doors, toilets, washbasins, kitchen and pantry equipping, beds and furniture for the kids. Will you join us for a good cause? If you’re in a position to contribute, we’d be deeply grateful for your support through the Integra Foundation website: https://bit.ly/NaDetskyDomov

We truly hope that the work will continue and that this year’s concert will be full of gratefulness and praise, showing you children sleeping in their own beds, in a home that meets all hygiene and safety standards. A home that gives them stability, a sense of security, and confidence in their future.

Our friends from the Šoporňa-Štrkovec Social Services Home invited us again to cheer them on at the 19th annual Štrkovecká Barónka—a wonderful event where social service homes residents in the Trnava region compete in dance, singing, theater performances, and even visual arts. Bursts of laughter and pure joy alternated with moments of deep emotion, connection, and gratitude. We are truly honored to be part of it!

How was your year 2024? Are you looking forward to 2025, or do you have some hesitation? Whatever your answer is, we sincerely wish you a year filled with ease, kindness, courage, and humor. We hope that you will be brave to ask yourself the difficult yet important questions, and give your mental well-being the space to grow and flourish. We look forward to new connections, collaborations, and challenges in 2025!

In our team, we believe in the power of small joys – once again this year, we bought four different Advent calendars and truly enjoyed the little surprises behind each window throughout December. What holiday traditions do you have at work?

At the end of November, we shared a special musical evening with our clients, colleagues, and loved ones full of kindness and support for a meaningful cause. We gathered in the unique setting of the Mirror Hall of the Primate’s Palace for a benefit concert by the group Fragile in support of the Integra Foundation and our heartfelt project – the completion of a safe home for 80 orphan children from the streets of Nairobi. Human Dynamic Europe has been a proud sponsor of charity concerts for the Integra Foundation for several years, and the full proceeds from the evening went toward making the children's dream of a home come true. You can view the progress of this project here: https://youtu.be/3ougtwPdyUs. If you would like to contribute to this project, you can donate at this link: https://integra.darujme.sk/koncert2024/ THANK YOU!

Visiting our friends at the Šoporňa-Štrkovec Social Services Home is always a heartwarming experience for our team. Just minutes before our scheduled arrival, they are already at the gate, eagerly waving as soon as we appear and showing us the best place to park. As soon as we step in, they surround us, hug us, ask about news from Bratislava, work, and life. They remember our names and feel sad when someone from the team could not come due to illness or work. They welcome us with treats, play games with us, proudly show what they have created or learned, and tell us about their future home once the renovation of the building is completed. Their lives are far from easy, and their living conditions are not ideal, yet we always leave with smiles on our faces and our hearts full of joy and positive energy. Thank you, dear friends – see you next time! ♥

Playing board games is not only about having fun; it is about a time spent together providing opportunities to play, train mental skills and patience, as well as the ability to cooperate and think ahead. When the Integra Foundation announced a fundraiser for didactic and board games for children in Ethiopia and Kenya, we were more than happy to participate, as we know that children who play have a better chance to become successful adults satisfied with their lives. If you would like to contribute to children's joy, you may at this link: https://integra.darujme.sk/detompreradost/ Thank you very much.

Recently, we received a special invitation - our friends from the Soporna-Strkovec Social Services Home requested our presence to cheer them on at the 18^th edition of Strkovec Baronka, a wonderful event where clients from Social Services Homes in the Trnava Region compete in dancing, singing, theatre and visual arts. In addition to laughter, genuine joy and the content feeling of tired hands after hours of enthusiastic clapping, we received an unexpected gift at the event - painted pictures by our friends that are now proudly hanging on the walls of our office. Thank you!

Human Dynamic partners, clients, colleagues and loved ones enjoyed a story of the 18-year-old Leila Lacho from her Nairobi visit of orphanages and a beautiful Janais Christmas concert followed by a networking rout to support the Praise Gate children's home project in Kenya. Praise Gate is now closer to fulfilling the dream of a safe place and a better future for 80 children who would otherwise spend their childhood on the streets of Nairobi. If you would like to join us in building a well or providing electricity for the children, you may do so here Gift of Hope.

Guess who won the ping pong tournament recently? Our amazing friends from the Home of Social Services for Children and Adults in Šoporňa Štrkovec! They welcomed us again with open arms, warmth and generosity, sharing updates from their lives and their Christmas plans. Although they won the competition between our two teams, it was their enthusiasm and joy that was unbeatable. Each time we visit our friends, we are full of positive emotions, greater joy and immense gratitude.