Aoife's Story

At Barnardos, we work with thousands of children to help change their lives.

Aoife is just one of them...

Preventing a child with a problem from becoming a problem child

At 3, Aoife was living her life in darkness.
Her mum suffers from depression and has had addiction issues. Her Dad moved out of the family home leaving Aoife’s mum to cope alone. Aoife’s mum is agoraphobic, so she avoids public places meaning they rarely go outside. With the curtains drawn shut there was no difference between night and day in Aoife’s world. She only ate tuna, usually straight from the can. She was usually dirty, and sometimes had lice in her hair.

When we met her, she was already growing up to be one of those hardened young adults people try to avoid.

So how did we bring light into Aoife’s life?

Aoife’s Barnardos Project Worker Niamh, designed a programme specifically for Aoife and her family. The aim was to get Aoife into a routine, give her nutritious regular meals, and help her mum learn to look after the family, and herself, better. To read about this, and how it has turned Aoife’s life around, in her Project Worker’s own words, click here.

This is a true story. We have changed the names to protect identities.

Help us change the life of a child like Aoife.