Trio fundraising for trip to help struggling family in Kenya

A group of Mearns friends are travelling to Kenya to help a single father with his children.

Andrew and Lucy Philp left yesterday with their friend Lucy Morrison after deciding they wanted to do something to help a struggling family.

Andrew said: “The three of us are heading to Kenya to volunteer to help build/upgrade a house for a single dad named Daniel and his five children.

“The father was made a widower when his wife tragically died after giving birth.

“This tragedy was compounded further when Daniel broke both his arms when he fell from a tree. He could only afford to get one arm fixed, seriously impacting his ability to earn a living and support his children.

“Hearing this, we donated £400 for Daniel to get his other arm operated on, and Myles organised a further £200.”

The trio arranged a month’s leave and Andrew said they were helped along by Myles Edwards, an Aberdonian who runs the Gathima Edwards Foundation.

While building a home for the family Mrs Philp will also spend some time in the local school, Mrs Morrison will use her midwifery experience to help in a hospital and Mr Philp will help charities with book keeping.

The Philps and Morrisons have been busy fundraising for their trip and have so far raised more than £4,000.

Andrew said they were “blown away” by the level of support they have received.

He said: “We have been grateful for all the donations and everyone from friends, colleagues, families and complete strangers have been exceptionally generous.