Louisa and the gift of confidence
Louisa was five when I first met her a year ago.
She turned up looking small and terrified. In fact, I’d never seen a child so nervous before.
Children often get a bit teary at their first session but Louisa was distraught. Her mum was in a similarly panicked state and told us that Louisa rarely talked at school, would never put her hand up in class, had huge separation anxiety when going to school every day and found it impossible to form friendships.
Her Headteacher was so worried that she had suggested she see a child psychologist because she felt that Louisa’s problems were ruining her school experience.
Well, the first week she spent in the lobby barely daring to watch through the window. And the second week was the same – except that, this time, she did look through the window. Progress! Read more »
Bloggers for Haiti
I’m sure you’ll have seen on the news the dreadful situation that the survivors of the Haiti earthquake are now facing.
In an effort to help a group of bloggers have set up a just giving page to raise money. Our aim is to raise enough money for three rescue kits from the charity ShelterBox.
Each box contains:
- A ten-person tent with privacy partitions that allow its occupants to divide the space as they see fit
- A range of survival equipment including thermal blankets and insulated ground sheets, essential in areas where temperatures plummet at nightfall
- Means of water purification. Water supplies often become contaminated after a major disaster, as infrastructure and sanitation systems are destroyed, this presents a secondary but no less dangerous threat to survivors than the initial disaster itself.
- A basic tool kit containing a hammer, axe, saw, trenching shovel, hoe head, pliers and wire cutters. These items enable people to improve their immediate environment, by chopping firewood or digging a latrine, for example. Then, when it is possible, to start repairing or rebuilding the home they were forced to leave.
