Gabriel’s Story
Gabriel had a happy childhood. That was until bombs started falling on the place he called home, when war broke out in Ukraine. Gabriel, his Mum, and siblings fled to the UK, where they have been living with a host family, sharing just one small room for the last 2 years. With Christmas approaching, Gabriel was finding the prospect of spending the festive season without his Dad and Grandparents, who he had had to leave behind, really upsetting. It felt as though he had been robbed of any magic, along with the childhood he deserved…
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This is where Go Beyond stepped in: our Breaks Coordinators determinedly found Gabriel the perfect break, and our Breaks Leaders were ready to give the group the best Christmas ever. When Gabriel arrived for his break, he confidently integrated with his peers, forming a particularly strong friendship with a boy called Nick. However, during the evening, Gabriel began to withdraw and became visibly upset. Gabriel didn’t want to talk to the adults, so the Break Leaders offered him a notepad and pencil so he could write down his feelings, which he did. Gabriel expressed that he was missing his family a lot and finding it hard to understand the unfairness of the war.
Despite having these heartbreaking struggles, once Gabriel had shared his thoughts it was as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He realised he could trust those around him, that he was in a safe place where he could be free, even for just a little while. Gabriel’s teachers said that he was usually shy, struggled to make friends and communicate. But at Go Beyond, he flourished! Gabriel threw himself into all the activities, met other amazing children like Holly, Eve and Nick, and found his voice.
Gabriel was so grateful to be in this special place, where Christmas lights twinkled all around, the sound of laughter echoed through the hallways, and you could even see the stars at night, sat around the campfire. It seemed that the joy of Christmas had made its way back to Gabriel – miracles really did happen at Go Beyond. At the end of the week, Gabriel got to go to Santa’s Toy Shop – a grotto filled with the most amazing things. Gabriel chose a sketch book, so that he could send drawings back home to his family. He couldn’t wait to share the stories of his break, hoping they would give his loved ones a little bit of Go Beyond Christmas magic when they needed it too.
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*Children’s names and some of their story details have been changed to protect their identities.
