Barnardo &apos;s overseas . times do not change in Great Britain only but in the rest of the world too , and out of this pattern of restless progress come calls for help with child care problems , both for actual care and for help and guidance in how this can best be given . we thus learn that the name of Barnardo comes to the mind , when child care is planned in many parts of the world remote from our own land , and we are honoured by receiving these calls for help . in 1954 we decided to consider undertaking work in Kenya and in 1956 Mr T F Tucker , then deputy general Superintendent , made a personal investigation . as a result , two of our experienced superintendents , Rev and Mrs A St J Lemon , have spent two years guiding and assisting the work of the local child welfare society which was striving nobly to meet a great need but lacking our knowledge and experience . during 1960 , assured of the good-will of the government and their officials and with generous help over a site , plans have been made to build a home for thirty children of any race who may be in need . this should be in use before the end of 1961 . with Sir Donald MacGillivray as our President and a representative committee of which Mr B S Eastwood is Chairman and Mr L Njonjo Vice Chairman , we are assured of strong local support and in addition can look to the help of Mr M Adlam as Hon Treasurer and the Hon Humphrey Slade as our honorary legal adviser . Sir Arthur Smith reported enthusiastically on the inaugural meeting which he attended in Nairobi , on 29th November , 1960 , when Sir Godfrey Rhodes was in the chair supported by the Hon J N Muimi , M.L.C , the Minister of health . we rejoice at this opening of a new chapter in our history and have little doubt that others will watch with interest this experiment in adapting the Barnardo standards and methods of child care to the needs of a community whose conditions of life are very different from our own . another small piece of help which may be mentioned is that which is being given to the Sanyu babies home in Uganda , in order that this work , started by missionaries of the Church missionary society , for babies abandoned in the mission Hospital , may be further developed . mention should also be made of an appeal from Hong Kong to assist in the placing of abandoned babies , approved as suitable , by the international social service , with married couples in this country , who have offered to take such children into their homes . in Hong Kong destitute children in as dire need as any Dr Barnardo found a hundred years ago on our London streets are a common sight , but it is clear that the support and guidance of an adoption society such as our own is essential if such placements are to be made happily , and the interests of these abandoned children safeguarded , in all eventualities . we have gladly responded to this call and who can tell to what new enterprises these initial experiments may lead by the time we reach our centenary in 1966 ? changes in Australia too . the wind of change has been blowing in the Australian branch of our family too , and much has happened there during the last year , which will be of interest to our readers . some of our large units , such as the Picton Farm School and parts of Normanhurst , have been sold and new homes more suitable as family group homes purchased , and in addition , a boarding out Officer has been appointed in order to further this type of care in our Australian work . we have unfortunately experienced some difficulty in finding a sufficient number of children free to emigrate from this country , partly because of the ties which so many now retain with at least some members of their own family . although this must be disappointing to our New South Wales committee who have given so much thought and effort to the changes already mentioned , they hope also to open a new chapter in offering admission to local Australian children who may be in need . Barnardo publications on child care . opening new branches is not however the only way in which we feel able to help with child care problems in the world at large , and we always welcome at Stepney the numerous visitors from abroad who want to profit by the experience of our senior officers and also see some of our branch homes or special schools for themselves . but there is much help that could be disseminated more widely by means of booklets on various technical aspects of our work , and the preparation of two of these has begun this year . one is on the method of helping cases of enuresis or bed wetting and the other out-lines a scheme of help for spastic children ( those suffering from cerebral palsy ) from early infancy . further subjects will be dealt with in due course , and should prove a valuable means of passing on to others the experience we have gained ourselves through the years since Dr Barnardo himself first opened the door nearly 100 years ago . homes for special needs . the work of our special homes , linked with boarding schools for the backward or physically handicapped has continued steadily and there have been small waiting lists for any vacancies that might occur . the ministry of education , convinced that the need for these schools has been largely met , placed limits on the maximum numbers for each school , which reduced the places available by about twenty-five . as far as we are concerned , the chief effect of the more adequate national provision for the physically handicapped has been a tendency to limit applicants for admission to a special type of problem . this is the child with a severe handicap , whatever its actual nature , and of relatively retarded intelligence , whose home can not cope with the problem involved . such cases exact a heavy toll of patience and toil from our staff , and we never cease to admire the devoted service so many of them give to this cause . the work makes its own appeal however , and we have not experienced undue difficulty in keeping these homes staffed . a special group of these children is the severe spastics whose educability can only be decided by an actual period of trial . the County education Officers have shown themselves more than ready to sponsor such a trial but often search desperately for any boarding school willing to provide the opportunity . here we have felt was a need which should appeal to an organisation such as ours , and we have arranged an extra class in each of our five schools , where such a trial can be given . allied to this work has been our centre near Derby at which we have sheltered and helped up to 25 mentally disordered children who have either been ascertained as such subsequent to admission , or who were admitted for a short period to give their parents a much needed rest . mention has already been made of the working party considering the needs of children suffering from mental disorder . this has now reported and its recommendations have been accepted by the council . although they can only be implemented in due course it is hoped to extend the work we are now doing at our home near Derby , and thus increase the scope of our work to help in this urgent national problem . there remain one or two specific problems such as deafness , blindness or severe speech defects for which we do not ourselves provide the special treatment and education required , but even here , we can and do help by arranging admission and then planning the help required with the aid of those who have the facilities . with this provision in mind , we might rightly add to our original motto no destitute child ever refused admission , a modern variation no child in need refused the help he or she requires . we are certainly doing our best to make this a reality . our approved schools . a glance at the page our work in brief which concludes this report , may surprise some by its reference to two approved schools , and it will be noted that this is not a charge on our charitable funds . it is however a piece of work of which Barnardo supporters should rightly be very proud , and the record of these two schools in their work for children in need is not surpassed by that of any of our other branches . it is perhaps not sufficiently realised by the public generally that the home office is glad to entrust the running of these schools to a number of Christian organisations , realising that the Christian faith and way of life can supply the stabilising power these boys so greatly need . it will of course be realised that the boys admitted have been sent to us by the children &apos;s courts and have no other connection with our own Barnardo family . in most cases the boys lack the right kind of home support and care and at times may have no suitable home to which they can return when their school training is deemed to be completed . this fact makes it most appropriate that a Christian child care organisation should be responsible for their future and can , when necessary , offer the hospitality of a home or hostel to meet the need . going out into the world . for every boy and girl who has been living in the Barnardo family the day comes when they must start in their first post and in many cases have their first experience of lodgings . it will be realised how much help they may need in the first one or two years , and our well organised and staffed after care departments for boys and girls are planned to provide this help . what happens . you may wonder what happens to our boys and girls , and the answer can best be found in the pages of the old boys and girls magazine the guild messenger . this is published four times a year and each issue has at least twelve pages of news from all quarters , weddings , etc , and correspondence from all parts of the world . it is a wonderful story of how these young people , who seemed at one time to have lost all that matters most , have won their way back to find their own niche in a difficult world . this magazine , with all its personal news , is only for members of the old boys and girls guild , but if any of our keen supporters could steal a glimpse at its pages , their hearts would be warmed within them . it tells also of annual re-unions and dinners held in various parts of the country and of the activities in the well established club at Stepney , where old boys and girls , within reach , foregather on Friday evenings or for special social occasions . finally , mention may be made of a letter which is sent out at Christmastime to every old boy and girl whose address is known , however many years ago they may have left our care . some six thousand of these are sent and the numerous replies received indicate how much they are appreciated . what is the secret of success . we of course have our black sheep and some do not succeed as well as others in overcoming their initial handicaps , but we feel confident that our records reveal a high level of success in preparing our boys and girls for life and all its demands upon them . when viewed against the background of low standards of morality , honesty and behaviour which many of our national leaders deplore as a feature of our times , we might well be challenged to say what is the secret of character building which turns out so many of our children as worthy citizens . the answer may best be given by saying that we would not dare to take the responsibility of sending these our children out into the world without the foundation of a strong Christian faith . 