News Archive

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Child Escort - Friday 17 April 2009

Bringing Fred from Uganda

This is Fred Mutumba, after his arrival at Heathrow Airport from Entebbe, looking very serious, seated in the first officer's seat, and having borrowed that gentleman's cap (he had been kindly allowed to visit the cockpit of our flight BA62 from Entebbe). He was absolutely thrilled as his vision of life is to be a pilot one day, in the not too distant future.

He is 12 years old at the moment, very bright, very assured, speaking English beautifully and I brought him to the UK on behalf of Chain of Hope so that his medical condition, which had prevented him leading a normal, boisterous life, could be rectified.

The flight was a quiet affair as it was full and, of course, it was all so new to Fred. Added to the novelty were the dread of the following week's surgical procedure and the ordeal of meeting so many different people, away from his family. He looked shy, he behaved very shyly and I thought he was shy, an assumption soon dispelled when I met him a week later, at Heathrow for his return journey home!

He was ready to go home, full of energy for the first time in his life. He had had a great time with his loving host family but was looking forward to enjoying the flight back (window seat!) and be reunited with his parents and siblings who he had missed a lot.

It felt fantastic to see him so well.

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