Page 21 - QARANC Vol 14 No 12 2016

THE GAZETTE QARANC 19
The Pirate Concert as led by Armed Forces Groups
fortunate than themselves. For both the children and helpers the trip can prove to be life changing. The charity welcomes people of all religions and none and, at the very least, it provides respite for the parents who trust their children to the caring groups.
Having achieved our initial orientation, next up was our first opportunity to meet our family groups and the children we’d be spending the week with. There were a lot of HCPT songs to learn, little did we know that by the end of the week we’d be shameless in our renditions of ‘Rise and Shine’ not to mention fluent in the actions. To top off a hectic day was the ‘Pirate Party’, an opportunity to don our pirate hats and eye patches and sing shanties with hundreds of HCPT kids and volunteers from all over the world. Our theme, chosen by hosts the West Indies group, was ‘Rejoice!’ and it was definitely apparent that evening.
After the concert we had our first taste of one to one care for the children within our designated parent groups as we bathed them and assisted in putting them to bed – about as exhausted as we were!
Tuesday began with arts and crafts and face painting, which several members of the group discovered a bit of a flair for. Next up was a children’s’ mass, a brilliant sing-a-long and tour on the miniature railway and an afternoon playing games in the sunshine on the ‘prairie’, a large fielded area next to the river. We were lucky enough to pick a week with fabulous weather, so it was shorts and sun cream all round. In the evening we were introduced to ‘prayers on the stairs’, another opportunity to get to know the fantastic kids and dedicated helpers in our family groups as we reflected on the day.
It may be appropriate to say a few words about the children although we must be careful not to be too specific about them and the different challenges they face. Some were on the autistic spectrum and several were at the high end. We also had wheelchair users, those with behavioural difficulties and others who had suffered recent traumas like the death of a parent or sibling. One thing was clear though, all grew in confidence as the week progressed and each made their own unique contribution to its success.
Wednesday’s highlight was a trip to Gavarnie, a village in the mountains outside Lourdes. The stunning scenery was an incredible background to an outdoor mass, followed by a day of games and café stops for ice cream. Some of the braver members of the party even scaled a hill to sledge down, refusing to let the lack of snow put them off. Exhausted by all the fresh air, most of group 720 still managed to muster for a
Taking a breather from the Olympiad
few drinks in a café to top off another brilliant day.
Trust Mass was the main event on Thursday. This is the major mass for HCPT’ers, with everyone donning face paint, fancy dress and huge grins for a few hours of dancing, singing and even more ‘Rejoice!’-ing. The West Indies group led us, with parades of banners and a beautiful solo from one very talented little girl. You really would have to be there to experience it, but videos from the live feed are available online for anyone who’d like a small taste of this amazing experience, the best part of which has to be the children’s’ enjoyment. There wasn’t a single member of our group who stayed dry eyed all week in the face of their joyful enthusiasm! That afternoon could have been an anti-climax but Group 720 was tasked with organising a special “Olympiad” for the Armed Services Region. It was quite a task to cope with the different abilities spread among the children and helpers but we were told that we rose to the challenge. The key seemed
to be plenty of wild activity – much of it including water! Friday morning was an opportunity for a visit to the local zoo where we were lucky enough to get a brilliant view of wallabies, monkeys and even a tiger. We then began preparing to throw a Disney themed party for all the other groups. Having transformed ourselves into Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Tinkerbell, more pirates, Puss in Boots and Cinderella, Group 720 herded kids and prepared snacks. The party was a roaring success, from the brilliantly noisy games
to the endless supply of sweets and snacks.
There was a fabulous but chaotic magic show from one of
the group leaders and even a surprise appearance from the wonderful Michelle McManus (a winner of X Factor), who did justice to the Disney back catalogue (including a rousing ‘Let It Go’ with all the high notes, which the girls loved).
We finished our wonderful week with an emotional last prayers on the stairs and a final trip to the grotto reflecting on all that we’d learned about ourselves and each other on this amazing trip.
We are so thankful to the QA’s Association and HCPT’s Armed Forces groups for helping to fund this amazing experience. Not only did we have such fun, we met some wonderful, dedicated serving members of the military and got to witness first hand the impact that this charity can have on the children who join them. We can’t recommend it enough and have every intention of returning as fully fledged team members in the future.
Pte Melanie Johnson DHSE