Kirsty’s Kids restored

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 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

strap themselves into and take off into rough countryside. Specially built for Kirsty’s Kids there are only a few others in the whole world.

Until the flood the charity had welcomed more than 200 children and their families to Lochailort, organising days out and activities for them, alongside learning new skills and crafts to boost their confidence, mental and physical abilities.

Despite the massive destruction which also undermined and 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 said: “The flooding washed away almost everything and at the time we really didn’t know how long it would take to get everything restored, but we never gave up and here we are back in operation.

“We never stopped working on repairs 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 Kirtsy’s Kids, work is ongoing to improve and extend their services, but to mark the reopening an open day was held to show what had been achieved and the many opportunities provided to families by the charity. Unfortunately, this coincided with one of the wettest days of the whole summer, but this did not dampen the spirits of anyone who came along to help and to see what was being offered. Jan said: “This is all about the children who need help. It is fantastic to see them enjoying their time here, learning new things and just having some time to relax, away from the pressures of everyday life and we will continue to make this happen.”

More details on Kirsty’s Kids and how to make a donation can be found on the Social Media pages.