WHAT IS HAF?

Holiday Activities and Food or HAF, is holiday provision provides fun, free activities for children and young people during school holidays, and designed for those who are eligible for free school meals. It’s designed to support young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, aiming to support each persons wellbeing in a safe and inclusive environment.

We work closely with Bedford Borough Council and Central Bedfordshire Council, helping to identify young people for this provision through the early help and children’s services teams within the local authorities. This ensures that the young people who need it most are able to access the programmes easily.

WISAM’S STORY

Wisam is one of the amazing children that attended the Blues HAF camps this year.

From a young age Wisam and his family had to move from their home in Syria to Lebanon taking with them what they could. After a spell in Lebanon, they moved over to the UK.

On day one of the camp for Wisam, it was clear to our coaches that he was shy and reluctant to join in with some of the other children, not wanting to take part in the activities. But after 1:1 work with our dedicated coaches, we started to see a different side to Wisam.

The shy boy that our coaches had met had disappeared and a confident outgoing child started to emerge. Before, where he didn’t want to play sport with the others, he’s now running the football team, encouraging others to join in where they might not have wanted to. Not only is he winning games, but bringing his teammates along with him, boosting their confidence in their own abilities. When he’s not running around playing all the new games that the coaches were teaching, he’s interacting and engaging with all the other children at the camp.

“Since arriving at the camp, Wisam has made a strong group of friends he may not have met at school or during the summer holidays.”

Wisam went from a shy boy in his shell, to becoming the unofficial greeter of the camps, welcoming and helping all the new children who found it difficult to get settled, just like he was.