Justin Kia is our 34 year old Farm Manager, he is a hard working, honest and very dedicated young man. Justin lives close to the Good Life Orphanage where he co-ordinates our farm staff whilst doing manual work daily on the Shamba. Our GLO children regard him as their uncle, as he is so caring towards them all.

He has sadly suffered from severe headaches and earaches for the past 18 months, with constant tinnitus, resulting in many sleepless nights due to the pain. Numerous visits to local hospitals and consultations with different doctors were all in vain, and he has continued to loose weight and become weaker. He is a shadow of his former self just weighing under 40kg (6st) and struggling to walk, it is very sad to see.

When Kevin returned to Kenya in late August he noticed how Justin was struggling to walk and had developed tremors, he was trying to keep working as he was afraid he would loose his job if we noticed how he was. Physically his facial appearance has also changed dramatically with his eye protruding and a large lump just below his ear. A consultation with our good friend Dr Dhutia was quickly followed by an MRI scan, and a referral to a neurologist solved the mystery.

Justin has been diagnosed as having a Vestibular Schwannoma, which is a tumour on the inner ear canal leading to the brain. The neurologist has advised us that he needs an operation to remove the tumour as a matter of urgency as it is becoming large enough to press against the brain and interfere with his vital functions.

As you all know from my many previous posts, there is no NHS in Kenya, Justin earns the equivalent of £110 per month and as you can see from his home above the family are very poor. His work supports his family, including mother, father and three siblings. He is a very kind and gentle person, who we all really like and appreciate his dedication to the orphanage. The operation will cost in the region of 500,000 Kenyan Shillings (£3,800), this includes the operation, two days in ICU and six days recovering in a normal ward at one of the better quality hospitals here in Mombasa.

Thanks to Hemed’s perseverance we have managed to get 200,000 Shillings (£1,500) from an insurance scheme we contribute to monthly, Justin’s family are also going to sell their cow which is about 30,000 Shillings leaving us, £2,000 short. We are appealing to you all out there to please help us raise this money for Justin, he is a very important member of our GLO team, and his hard work, dedication and great skill on the farm ensure all the children and staff are well fed from our farm yield.

Please dig deep and give what you can to help this key member of our family. (You can give in the box below. We have recently moved to a new fundraising platform, which means that even more of your donation goes directly to the people who need it the most)