Supporting AIDS orphans becomes life mission for Lybster man
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AT only five months old, Lilian was given little chance of survival as she was handed into a home for orphans who have been diagnosed with HIV and Aids.
Her grandmother informed staff at the Tumaini Home of Hope that her mother had already died from HIV and that the father had disappeared long before the baby was born. Given little or no chance to live, she was immediately rushed to hospital. There the baby herself was diagnosed with HIV and was also found to be suffering from TB as well as severe malnourishment and dehydration.
Five years later, despite still living with HIV, Lilian has grown into a healthy and happy child, thanks to donations from Caithness which have helped her and dozens like her get a second chance of life.
The Tumaini Home of Hope is home to 60 children suffering from HIV or Aids who have been abandoned by their families.
With Kenya lacking a national health service, all of the children at the home would not be alive if it was not for the work of the home.
A Caithness man is ready to sell up and dedicate his life to the cause. Ian Orbell (63), from Lybster, stumbled upon the work of the charity by chance while on holiday in Mombasa in Kenya. But after taking one look at what the home does and the difference it has made to the children, he couldn’t just walk out of the door and forget what he saw.
The rigger, who is due to retire next year, is preparing to spend the rest of his days in Kenya to work closer with the charity.
He said when he paid his visit to the home over 10 years ago, he knew that he wanted to be involved with its work as much as he could.
"Once you get involved you can’t turn your back on it," he said.
"I was on holiday in Kenya when I first visited the Tumaini Home of Hope. After just one look, I was hooked – I knew I had to help out in some way.
"During my time there, I have seen all the children grow up and have become more than their friend, as they call me their papa.
"They have become my extended family and I love them to bits. Since the home has taken me in, it has been the best time of my life.
"It’s heartbreaking that the kids have been diagnosed with HIV and Aids, but their smiles drive me on to raise as much money as I can."
Tumaini was founded in 2002 by Joan Smith who was inspired to help orphans in Bamburi after she holidayed there.
While staying in a hotel, she gave a donation to man whose niece was said to have been diagnosed with HIV.
She later found out that the baby had been abandoned in a nearby bush. Determined to make a difference to the lives of children in the town, she sold her house in England and everything she owns to move permanently to Kenya to set up the home.
The home has room for up to 70 children – two dormitories, one for girls and one for boys – and in 2011 opened up a school which teaches over 300 children in the area.
Many of the children arrive with serious and complex medical and psychological needs. The home works with AIDS Orphan, a UK charity offering psychological and emotional support for children who have experienced trauma.
Thanks to the work of the home, Mr Orbell said the youngsters have been given a second chance of life and that is in part thanks to the money raised in the far north of Scotland.
Over the last decade, he has collected over £10,000 through donations and fundraising events held in Caithness, which he says has helped save the lives of so many children.
Heading back to Africa later this year to continue his work with the charity, he said it breaks his heart knowing what these children have gone through but at the same time his spirit is lifted by the generosity of local people.
"Caithness has done so much for these kids – local people have helped raise a five figure sum for the home, but the actual amount of money they have given is priceless," he said.
"It is very difficult to explain about the troubles of Aids when it is not a problem here, but the fact they continue to donate money is amazing.
"As well as giving them a place to live and grow up safely, money is also used to take them out on day trips and it is even hoped we can take them on safari one day.
"Mama Joan is my biggest inspiration – she is a wonderful woman as without her all these children would have died.
"The home has given them a second chance of life and it is something that goes through my head every day and what drives me on to do as much as I can."
