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I Know What I did Last Summer
By Jaini Gudhka
"How do you decide what sort of holiday to plan?" "What experiences and adventures do you seek?"
"How do you feel after your holiday?"
Below is an account of my summer holiday, where I was privileged to have had an experience that satisfied my adventurous side in a way better than any standard holiday.
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A young Jains Tasting the Mango"
Convention, my friend Bindi, told me how she had spent her last week. She had been volunteering on a holiday organised by Sense, a national voluntary organisation that supports deafblind people. Bindi described her unique holiday experience and enjoyment, and immediately I said to her 'I would love to go on a Sense Holiday. So, that's what I did last
summer.
Sense has a principal belief that all people are entitled to dignity and respect, and should be valued equally. Sense strives to provide a range of services and opportunities, which recognise the diversity of their user's needs. Sense has been organising holidays for deafblind people for over 25 years with the simple aim
Ther
here were 4 holidaymakers, 2 leaders, and 6 volunteers. We were in a beautiful, serene location on the edge of the Cotswolds, with an on-site farm, adventure playgrounds and a BMX assault course.
PLANNING
We arrived at the holiday home and I was hit by the extent of the disabilities that the holidaymakers seemed to have. Seeing Gemma distressed about being in the house, made it all quite daunting on the first hour. After talking to the parents, I felt more confident and learned that Gemma prefers the outdoors. So, we spent the next two hours on the swing - which became our favourite holiday activity.
All the volunteers supported and befriended all the holidaymakers. Also, we were assigned a holidaymaker that we predominantly supported. I was assigned to Gemma, a girl of 19 with hearing and visual impairments along with other disabilities. The other 3 holidaymakers, Nick, Ozan and Lucy, all had various levels of sensory and other impairments. Gemma, Nick and Ozan communicated using pictures, signs or gestures.
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for holidaymakers to have Fun in a supportive environment. It allows the holidaymakers to make new friends and gain new experiences, whilst at the same time it provides the parents/carers a chance to have a break.
I had no previous experience or any knowledge of sign language or caring for special needs. Lucky for me, Sense was not looking for anything except passion, commitment, and stamina to deliver a fun-packed holiday for all to enjoy. Any specialist skills or experience is a bonus.
The half-day workshop and fantastic manual gave me an understanding of the essentials, e.g. protection and mobility. As for expectations, it is best to keep an openmind and to savour every experience.
ADVENTURE
A typical day started at 8am. Although if you had been up doing the night shift, you would probably experience Nick awake early, heading straight for the kitchen for his bowl of 7 Weetabix! It was quite a task trying to get Ozan and Gemma up and ready, and could often take 2 or 3 hours. Then everyone jumped on the minibus to set off on the day's adventure.
I am an adventurous holidaymaker, wanting to make the most of every moment. However, I was aware that this holiday could be different to my usual escapades. One of my biggest surprises was how active the holiday was, and how much we accomplished in terms of adventure and activities. Despite the fantastic
onsite benefits available to us, we were out and about everyday. A few examples include visiting Legoland, a farm, Weston-super-Mare, boating and swimming.
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After returning from our expedition, everybody would help with preparing dinner. After dinner, holidaymakers would get comfortable for the evening, and creative minds would unlock to produce impressive diaries to collect memories and present to their families.
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