KIRSTY’S KIDS RISES FROM THE FLOODS Iain Ferguson Over a year ago, a powerful flash flood devastated the Lochailort home of Jan and John Bryden, also sweeping away most of the facilities built in its grounds for the charity, Kirsty’s Kids. The charity was founded in memory of their 19-year-old daughter Kirsty who lost her life in a car accident just minutes from home. She loved children and had already spent time caring for sick young people in Scotland and Mozambique while also working with her Dad in their business of drying and repairing flood damaged properties. Former policeman John then set off around the world on Kirsty’s little 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
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their families with no effort spared in creating a safe, entertaining and active family environment designed to help those in need of some ‘time out’ from their 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 very hard work, Kirsty’s Kids is back in full operation with almost complete restoration of the
buildings and unique features which were wiped out by the flood. Helped by a determined team of volunteers working with the couple, the mammoth effort is all but complete. This included 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 force of water and rocks. The model village and radio controlled railway which could be followed and operated by someone in a wheelchair has also been completely reinstated. Luckily, some fairly unique and expensive pieces of equipment such as the ‘Hexhog’ escaped major damage. This is a six-wheeled, electrically driven, all-terrain vehicle in which people confined to a wheelchair can
| OctoBER 2021
Lochaber Life October 2021.indd 22
13/09/2021 09:52:55
