Dingwall community rallies around after family's devastating blow
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A ROSS-SHIRE couple devastated by the tragic death of a young member of their “extended family” has sent out a heartfelt thanks for the overwhelming response of the local community.
Colin and Karen Morrison are very grateful that their home town of Dingwall has rallied round to help pay for funeral costs following the death of the two-year-old child, thousands of miles away in Africa.
They became involved in charity work for an orphanage in KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa about nine years ago and since then have helped to establish strong links between the community there and young people in Ross-shire, organising several exchange visits.
The Morrisons made a special bond with a Zulu girl called Zinhle, who is the same age as their daughter Natalie, and her brother Nikosi.
“Over the years we have become very close to them,” explained Mr Morrison, whose wife Karen is a stock control manager at the Tesco supermarket in Dingwall.
The relationship was further strengthened in 2014 when Zinhle gave birth to a baby girl she called Naomi.
“In early 2016, Zinhle and Naomi stayed with us in Dingwall for over a month and both of them became the centre of attention, not just for us but for a great number of the staff at Tesco,” Mr Morrison recalled.
“This beautiful wee lassie and her mum captured a lot of hearts and brought a big chunk of Africa to Dingwall with them.”
Tragedy struck about three weeks ago when the Morrisons learned Naomi had died in an accident in the orphanage swimming pool, aged not quite two-and-a-half.
“This has been devastating not just for Zinhle and Nikosi but also for their own community and for the many others around the world who knew this small family,” Mr Morrison said.
“Despite this awful tragedy we have been immensely touched by the thoughtfulness of many of our friends and colleagues in Tesco who have gone out of their way, not only to voice their sorrow at the loss of Naomi, but also to ask how they could help.”
He said many cash donations had come in, as well as cards and messages of sympathy, and this had made a major contribution to the costs of Naomi’s funeral.
The money raised will also pay for a lasting tribute to the much-loved little girl in the form of a headstone.
“We cannot thank the people of Ross-shire enough, and in particular the staff at Tesco. I can hardly put into words what this means to us,” Mr Morrison said.
“They made a difference in ways that will not be forgotten in the Zulu community and Zinhle has asked us to pass on her gratitude for that support.”
Mrs Morrison added: “The way the staff rallied round has been fantastic. It has been quite overwhelming actually. We just want to say a big thank you to everyone.
“Zinhle and her brother have become like our extended family, and they call us mum and dad. We were devastated to get the news about the wee one. She used to call me Gogo, which is the Zulu for Grannie, and Colin was Mkulu meaning Grandad or old man.”
