Ngong volunteers dodge Nairobi Airport chaos

Good news for JamesThe latest crew of volunteers for the Maintain Hope project in Kenya arrived safely, writes Brian Byrne.

"We got through before the chaos at Nairobi Airport," charity co-director Gerry O'Donoghue told the Diary today. "That wasn't us, honestly."

The other piece of good news he was able to tell was that the story recently published about 'James', the 11-year-old at the orphanage whose jaw was fused as the result of an accident, is to get his necessary operation in September.

"As a result of James's story being published on the blog, two Kilcullen volunteers on our trip had raised enough money for James to have his operation. He now has his assessment appointment, and his surgery is scheduled."

The operation will cost €2,000, but will allow James to eat and speak properly for the first time since the crash that claimed his parents' lives.

One result of his injury is that he only has the physique of an 8-year-old because of his inability to eat properly. That should now rectifiy itself in the period following the operation.

"Please pass on our gratitude to all who contributed to this particular matter," says Gerry, who was out in the orphanage at Ngong some weeks in advance of the 2013 volunteers group. "By the way, the blog a wonderful link from here to home, which can seem very far away sometimes."