Can you help bring Jess home? Fundraising campaign for Northampton hospice nurse stuck in South Africa

Friends of a Northampton nurse stuck in South Africa while working in a wildlife sanctuary have set up a fundraising campaign to get her home.

Jess Jennings was on a sabbatical from her job at Cynthia Spencer Hospice when the Covid-19 restrictions on travel were brought in and flights were cancelled. Now she is struggling to get home and is running out of money.

The JustGiving page - Bring Jess Home - set up by her best friend, Jodie Wackett, has already reached more than £1,100 of its £5,000 target.

Writing on the page, Jodie said: "Covid-19 is affecting everyone in different ways. Our lovely friend Jess is stuck in South Africa with no way of coming back soon.

"She is a hard-working British nurse, who has been working on sabbatical on a wildlife sanctuary.

"Jess's flights have been cancelled, time and time again. Now the airline has said she is looking at another eight weeks before a partial refund for her flights may come through.

"In the meantime, Jess will have to find in excess of £2000 to pay for a repatriation flight home.

"With all of this to sort out, as well as trying to keep in contact with family here, Jess's phone bill has just topped £400! She has registered for repatriation with the UK Government - twice but so far she hasn't had any correspondence back.

"Understandably those people in the government will have a huge task to get all of those travellers home but we don't want our Jess to be bottom of that list.

"She has run out of annual leave, and isn't getting paid.

"Jess has rent to pay on her flat here in the UK. She currently works in a hospice, as a nurse in these horrible times, Jess wants to come home and help. Please help us to help her support herself as soon as possible so that she can home and if you know of anything you can do to help please let us know," she added.