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Parents of stranded Maquoketa teens anxiously await return

Maquoketa parents are anxiously awaiting the return of their children who have been stranded in Africa after an airport fire.

Maquoketa parents are anxiously awaiting the return of their children who have been stranded in Africa.

After a fire broke out at the Nairobi Airport in Kenya on Wednesday, August 7, 2013, a group of 26 high school students, involved in a school affiliated group, were unable to get home. Parents did get word that they’re doing just fine, but the first news of them being stranded was a little unnerving.

One parent, Brian Tabor, said his daughter Jacquline was scheduled to be at the airport when the fire broke out.

“Turned the news on and scrolling across the bottom of the screen was there was a big fire at the Nairobi Airport and I was a little concerned,” Tabor said.

He later received an email and then a phone call reassuring him that the students were fine and to not be upset.

As the airport resumes its flights, the group is looking to get the next flight home after spending nearly two-weeks there.

The group, members of Club Hope, was originally scheduled to be there for nine days to help build a boarding school for girls.

“This is not our first trip to Kenya,” said Maquoketa Schools Superintendent, Kim Huckstadt. “They knew what they were getting into, but this was obviously a variable they weren’t expecting.”

As Club Hope hopes to get home soon, they have been placed in a hotel and are occupying their time with supervised activities.

The cause of the airport fire is still under investigation.

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