Paint Pots Nurseries owner David Wright is currently packing his bags for a two-week stay in Kenya, where the main focus of his visit will be to work with special needs children and staff in an orphanage and nursery based in the slum area of Kisumu.
Mr Wright, who runs the five-strong, Southampton-based chain with his wife Anna, says all of his children and staff are 
excited about the visit. Last year four of his nurseries raised £500 for the project, which is run by the charity To Kenya with Love.
'We were delighted when Chris Wheat, the charity's project manager, came back from Kenya with photographs of the climbing frame and playhouse which had been bought with the money we raised,' he says. 'It was fantastic to see so many children using it and getting so much enjoyment from it. They also sent us some of their artwork. It spurred us on to continue with our fundraising efforts and I am hoping to take a couple of extra suitcases of resources with me when I go.'
While in Kenya, he will also be linking up with projects in Nairobi that are linked to the World Forum on Early Years.
Paint Pots chose to support To Kenya with Love because the nursery has personal links with people involved and believes that it can have direct contact with the children and staff it is supporting.
'We are helping children who are at the same level as the children in our nursery and it is important that they understand that others like them are not as well off,' says Mr Wright. 'Seeing some of the pictures of the housing and streets makes us feel grateful for all we have in this country.
'As a man in childcare, I represent less than 2 per cent of the workforce in the UK, but in Kenya it is zero per cent. I want to be there to show that it is OK for a man to work with children and model interactions. We understand that while children in Kenya are well fed and clothed, there is little importance attached to interacting and building strong relationships, as there is in UK practice.
I will be giving staff some basic strategies to address this, particularly with children with special needs.'
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