Charity back with a smile
Kirsty’s Kids returns with special open day
A late summer downpour did nothing to dampen the high spirits at Saturday’s open day for the Kirsty’s Kids charity at Lochailort. After the devastation caused by last year’s severe floods, dozens of volunteers have since come together to help Kirsty Bryden Memorial Trust founders John and Jan Bryden, pictured, repair the damage including the model rail bridge seen here - and start welcoming back children and their families who are in need of special respite care.
Just over a year ago, a powerful flash flood devastated the Lochailort home of Jan and John Bryden, also sweeping away most of the activities built in its grounds for their charity Kirsty’s Kids, writes Iain Ferguson.
The charity was founded in the name of their 19-year-old daughter Kirsty who lost her life in a car accident minutes from home.
She loved children and had already spent time caring for sick young people in Mozambique and at home while working with her dad in their business of drying and repairing flood-damaged properties.
Following Kirsty’s death, John, a former policeman, set off around the world on his daughter’s motorcycle, raising £100,000 to get the charity started, assisted by police forces in the various countries he visited. From there, Kirsty’s Kids grew into an organisation offering respite care to children and their families with no effort spared in creating a safe, entertaining and active family environment designed to help those in need of ‘time out’ from everyday life.
Jan and John even moved into their converted garage so their house could be given over to visiting families.
Now, after a year of hard work, Kirsty’s Kids is back with almost complete restoration of the buildings and unique features which were destroyed by the flood. John and a small team of volunteers did all of the work, cleaning out and drying the house which was flooded to a depth of two feet, reconstructing the greenhouse, repairing other outbuildings housing workshops and comfy retreats as well as restoring all of the wheelchair-friendly pathways which were washed away by the water and rocks.
The model village and radio-controlled railway which could be followed and operated by someone in a wheelchair have also been reinstated.
Until the flood, the charity had welcomed more than 200 children and their families to Lochailort, also organising days out and activities for them.
Despite the destruction which also closed the West Highland railway line which runs behind their property, Jan and John had hoped to provide some form of care as soon as basic repairs could be completed, however, Covid restrictions prevented this happening.
John told the Lochaber Times: ‘The flooding washed away almost everything and we really didn’t know how long it would take to get everything restored, but we never gave up. We never stopped working and a team of volunteers played a big role in getting things back to normal. Even during Covid, a couple from Manchester made us their ‘bubble’ and spent weeks here clearing up and building. There are some really nice people out there.’
As always with Kirsty’s Kids, work is ongoing to improve and extend their services, but to mark the re-opening, an open day was held to show what has been achieved.
Despite heavy rain on the day, a popular activity was driving the ‘HexHog’ around the grounds and over rough terrain. This six-wheeled vehicle is designed to allow wheelchair-bound people independent travel in outdoor environments which would otherwise be inaccessible.
Jan added: ‘This is all about the children. It is fantastic to see them enjoying their time here, learning new things and relaxing away from the pressures of everyday life.’