Norfolk Christian leads disabled children's trip
 A group of Norfolk children with disabilities will be going on an Easter pilgrimage to Lourdes thanks to the fundraising efforts of Handicapped Children's Pilgrimage Trust group leader Elly Perrott.
Elly, 22, who lives in Hempstead near Holt, and supporters are trying to raise the final £5,500 needed to pay for the £16,000 trip in early April next year. The Trust is a Catholic charity and parents of all faiths and none are welcome to apply for a place for their child on the pilgrimage.
The Norfolk children, aged six to 19, along with the adult helpers, will fly to France on Easter Sunday and stay in a hotel during their week-long trip to Lourdes. Lourdes became a place of Christian pilgramme in 1858 when a young girl reported visions of the Virgin mary in a grotto near the town. At the grotto a bath fed by a spring is said to have healing properties.
Elly (pictured) has been a helper on this annual event for several years. She says, "The trip is not about healing. Children can go into the bath if their families want them to - but it's absolutely freezing cold! We will take part in several masses, visit the Pyrenees, have snow fights, visit sweet shops and enjoy lots of hot chocolate stops. The main focus is that we are out there together as a family group. It's a trip full of fun, songs, dancing and colour. It's the most exhausting week of my life and the most moving."
The biggest challenge is to raise the funds for the trip. The children's families are not asked to contribute towards their child's fare because as well as a break for the child, the time is meant to be respite for their families and can give them time to do things with their able-bodied children that they can't usually do.
Elly, who is a support worker for YMCA Norfolk, organised a quiz and fizz night last weekend at Stalham town hall to raise funds for the trip and hopes to hold another event in Norwich at a later date. She says, "The quiz night was a success! We raised £320 on the evening and then on Sunday I went to our church and sold the jewellery I've been making and we raised another £80."
Opportunities for donors, sponsors and helpers
 Elly hopes to take six children from Norfolk but there are only enough helpers to take five at the moment. Each helper makes a personal contribution of £500 but it costs £610 each and the group aims to fundraise the rest. They also need to raise money so pay for the activities for the children during the week. Any financial contribution would be very gratefully received. There is also an opportunity for a donor to support the trip as the sponsor on the group's kit. If anybody would like to find out more about any of these opportunities please contact Elly on either 01692 582703 or 07854 560542
For more information about the Handicapped Children's Pilgrimage Trust go to www.hcpt.org.uk |
