Couple’s pledge to help aids orphans

12:00pm Wednesday 1st October 2008

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A holiday in Kenya led Devizes couple Chris and Helie Franklin to become involved in a scheme to build an home for orphaned AIDS children.

Mr and Mrs Franklin are planning fundraising events to support the Children of Watamu, set up by Dave and Sue Hayward.

Mr Franklin booked the holiday in Kenya in February after Mrs Franklin underwent treatment for a brain tumour.

The couple, of Caen Hill, Devizes, were very impressed with the work being done by the charity.

Mr and Mrs Hayward had visited Watamu in 2000 as tourists and found the children at the school sitting on the floor, with no pencils, paper or any other materials or teaching aids. Eight years later, the pupils have everything they need, including secondhand computers.

Now the charity has set its sites on creating a house for children orphaned by AIDS, malaria and other tropical diseases in the area.

On her website, www.childrenofwatamu.net, Mrs Hayward writes: “Our next main project has to be to build a Happy House.”

Work to build the home is already under way, and the Coca Cola Foundation has donated $100,000 towards the project.

But more money will need to be raised to furnish the home.

Malmesbury based actor, Kris Marshall (My Family and the BT adverts) visited last week and has lent his support to the scheme.

Mr Franklin has become a trustee of the charity and he and his wife are planning a fundraising campaign .

The first event will be a sponsored cycle ride from Devizes to Southampton General Hospital, where Mrs Franklin has been receiving treatment, but it will have to wait until the Spring when she hopes to have recovered from her treatment.

In February, Mrs Franklin went in for a check-up and was told another tumour had been discovered and she has undergone radiotheraphy.

She hopes to be well enough however, to meet Mr and Mrs Hayward at their home in Blackpool in November.