When you look at eight-year-old Hannah* you will find her looking down at her tired trainers, her shoulders hunched, with one hand holding on to her arm; a small girl who doesn’t want to be seen. Hannah doesn’t go unnoticed; she has been bullied consistently since starting her new school due to her home life. She feels incredibly lonely, longing to make friends but struggling to make any lasting connections.
Before being removed from her parents care, Hannah was subject to physical and emotional abuse. She has been around adult conversations and behaviours leading her to see and hear things that no young person should witness. Recently there has been reason to suspect that Hannah may have been sexually abused too; the trauma of which is almost incomprehensible. Hannah was referred for a Go Beyond break by her teacher who said, “Hannah can often look so down, which puts other children off. But when she smiles, its like a million rays of sunshine have lit up. She is exceptionally kind, and she will help anyone without asking for anything in return”.
When Hannah arrived at Go Beyond’s Daleside Retreat on Monday she was quiet and withdrawn; seemingly overwhelmed by the experience. She struggled to settle in to the routine with the other children but slowly started to join in the games with the support of the Break Leaders and Volunteers. Hannah chose to spend time exploring the retreat by herself and enjoyed sitting on a beanbag reading a story in the ‘chill out’ room before slowly joining in activities when she felt able to.
As the week progressed, Hannah developed a great friendship with one of the break volunteers. As well as giving her some much-needed stability throughout the week, the volunteer helped Hannah to make friendships with the other girls on the break. Starting with striking up a conversation over dinner time and playing games of UNO to playing on the trampolines. Without their guidance and support Hannah may not have friends as she did. In the evenings Hannah struggled to get to sleep, so Break Leader Hayley, read a bed time story to the room which helped her to settle. Hannah loved the offsite activities – especially going to a local farm where she got to meet lots of animals – even feeding a little lamb! Hannah really enjoyed her break, she even made thank you posters for the leaders and volunteers who helped her throughout the week.
*Names and photos have been changed to protect identities.
