London Couple Raises 3,000 Pounds for Children in Latvia

Charity News Online

A charity night for Latvian children set up by a Londonderry couple who lost their baby son to cot death has raised almost £3000. Raymond and Violeta Kelly have said a big "thank you" after they held a special event in aid of latvianchildren.com on Tuesday - what would have been their son Joel's first birthday, Belfast Telegraph reports.

Derry man Raymond, a missionary, met Violeta in Latvia where she lived and worked at an orphanage. The pair married in 2000 and, after the births of daughters Leanna and Kristal, Violeta prayed for a son, and Joel was born on August 1, 2005. But tragically Violeta found her little son dead in his cot after a nap earlier this year.

They set up the charity after receiving donations in lieu of flowers at Joel's funeral. Over £3,000 was raised in a short time and the couple resolved to turn the tragedy of Joel's death into something positive and in April, a group of 22, including Raymond's extended family, traveled to Riga and helped fix up an orphanage where Violeta had worked previously.

The launch of the charity took place at the White Horse Hotel in Campsie and included an appearance from comic May McFetteridge. Today, Violeta revealed that through ticket sales and donations from the night, they had amassed a whopping £2,700. Violeta said that the money would go towards projects like sponsoring summer camps for Latvian orphans and building playgrounds for underpriveliged kids.

Latvia, charity, fundraising