Preparing for the Trip

Once each child is allocated their helpers, a series of home visits is arranged so that we can get to know all those funny little ways that make each child unique. A few weeks before we go, we have two meetings where we get our whole group together for the first time. One of these involve some games in a church hall while the parents go over boring details such as packing and travel etc. and for the second one, we go for a walk and have a cafe visit to get a real feel for how our group will be when we arrive in Lourdes. Children who are likely to need additional care at night or have specific medical or nursing needs will have extra home visits from our night nurses and our group nurse and doctor. In some cases, we may also arrange to visit children at school or respite setting and for those with specific needs we arrange extra training for our helpers from those with the relevant expertise.