Summer News 2023
Leah goes back to school.
Leah, 10, was missing school a lot. And when she was there, she couldn’t concentrate. She always seemed to be somewhere else. She rarely smiled and didn’t mix well with the other children in her class.
Her teacher spoke to her parents and recommended that they contact Barnardos. One of our project workers, Elizabeth, organised a home visit to Leah’s house, to see the family and hear more about what was going on for them. What she found broke her heart.
The house was badly in need of repairs and the family were going without some essentials. The three children and their parents were sleeping on mattresses with no sheets. There were bad drafts in some of the rooms and Leah’s parents couldn’t afford to keep the heating on for too long.
Leah said to Elizabeth that she was missing school because she was so tired all the time from not being able to sleep, because of the cold, and the uncomfortable bed. But there was something else. She also confided that she was ashamed, that she didn’t want the other children to see her in her old, worn-down clothes. Her school bag and other supplies were old and grubby. She was afraid her schoolmates would make fun of her, and she just wanted to avoid them.
Elizabeth sat down with Leah’s parents and together they planned to get the house in a better shape.
Together, they organised and decluttered the house, giving it a good clean. Elizabeth got some new pillows for everyone and sheets for each bed. She also brought them some food hampers from the food bank. They talked about budgeting, and she showed them how to make meal plans each week on a budget.
This made such a difference. Leah was sleeping so much better once she had new, clean sheets, and a comfortable pillow and blanket. Elizabeth also organised for Leah to attend one of our friendship groups, to help her with important skills like building and maintaining friendships.
The children also received some lovely back to school packs, tied with ribbons! In there they found new schoolbags, pencil cases, water bottles and everything they would need for the new school year. Elizabeth has also helped the family with organising new school uniforms for September.
Leah was so delighted with her pack. She can’t wait to go back to school with all her new things and that is all thanks to the kind and continued support of people like you, thank you!
You can support a child going back to school by purchasing a Gifts for Good card
Say thank you in another way.
Barnardos National Wellbeing Programme
The Barnardos National Wellbeing programme is an initiative for children and young people (4-18 years old), together with the parents and significant others in their communities.
It supports their positive mental health and wellbeing by empowering them to develop wellbeing practices that support them to be calm, present, and resilient. It equips them with the tools to manage their emotions effectively, cope with difficult situations and sustain good relationships with others.
Children and young people who participated enjoyed the programme and perceived it to be beneficial. Afterwards they were able to use their new skills and techniques to deal with stressful circumstances and setbacks.
Here is what they told us:
I liked it because it was different and relaxing
I did some of the breathing we’d learned and that helped me to stay calm
I think it was really helpful. If someone is stressed they might not know what to do, but the programme can help them
The programme includes several workshops. One of them is Creative Mindfulness. During this workshop, participants learn how to calm and relax their minds, focus, understand and express their feelings, and cultivate kindness for themselves and others through creativity, stories, art, craft, meditation, visualization and discussion.
Ciara’s Drawing for Healing
It took Ciara, who is 6, a bit of time to be able to talk about her family’s recent bereavement.
She got lots of support from her project worker Mary and being listened to helped the healing process. Using art as a way to process and deal with the big emotions, Ciara eventually opened up to Mary and said her idea of a safe space was holding her mam’s hand by the beach.
This is what she painted:
