Edward O’Reilly, a father whose three children are stuck in a hospital in Nairobi, has raised Ksh4.1 million against his target of Ksh4.5 million to clear all his debt.
The Irish father set-up a Go Fund Me page aimed at raising money after he was slapped with a hefty fee by the surrogacy that helped him.
He is, therefore, planning to travel to Nairobi to meet his three daughters who are still at an undisclosed city hospital.
“We are completely overwhelmed and so grateful to the people of Ireland for their kindness and generosity. We need about €38,000 (Ksh4.5 million) to cover all of our costs to go back over, so we are nearly there, thank God.
"I can’t wait to see my daughters again. If I could get on a plane right this minute, I would. Hopefully it will happen next week," he told the Independent.
In a previous interview, O'Reilly told Irish press that he underwent untold suffering when he flew to Kenya to meet his newborn babies.
He noted that he entered into an agreement of Ksh5.9 million (€50,000) with the surrogacy in Nairobi.
The script, however, changed soon after he arrived in Kenya when the agency notified him of an additional Ksh1.8 million (€16,000).
The father also had to settle hospital bills that had ballooned to Ksh1.4 million (€12,000) as well as Ksh1.3 million as fee to medics.
According to the 33-year-old, the three were born prematurely on September 1 under a surrogacy programme'
“Instead of getting on the plane with three babies, I’m coming back with three birth certs.
“I’ve come back to an apartment full of baby stuff, cots, prams, and clothing. I’ve just been looking at it all the last few days, I can’t explain the feeling. I’m devastated," he stated at the time.
He further recounted that he was beaten up in Nairobi streets while here to pick the three babies.
According to the Kenyan Constitution, surrogacy is not well governed.
A Vitro Fertilization regulation allowing heterosexual couples to hire a surrogacy to carry their pregnancy is still pending.
