PGL OSMINGTON BAY 2012
Thirty four young people aged between 11 and 16 years old nervously travelled to PGL Osmington Bay, Weymouth on Friday 29th June 2012 for the third residential activity weekend organised by DDCS and HISS. Some had previously been to the activity weekends in 2009 and 2010 and were looking forward to a fun weekend, but some had not met the other children or the adult helpers until a few weeks before at a bowling event so they were quite nervous and brave! But, it was not long before everyone was making friends and enjoying themselves.
The first night was full of excitement and getting to sleep took a while but they were up early on Saturday to start the day’s activities which included Abseiling, Quad Biking, Aeroball and the Giant Swing. When these activities were finished it was time for tea, a visit to the shop and then a game of Ambush. Needless to say they went to sleep a lot quicker than the night before!
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Waking them up on Sunday morning took some time but once they were up and had breakfast they were ready for Archery, Rifles and the Zip Wire. Later that day parents arrived to pick up their very tired but happy offspring and the weekend ended with a presentation of individual certificates and a souvenir group photograph for every child and a slide show of pictures taken over the weekend for the parents.
A big THANK YOU to the eleven volunteer adult helpers who gave up their spare time to come along to help and support the youngsters. The weekend could not have taken place without this help, and they also went home exhausted!
What makes this weekend so special is giving the opportunity for young people to meet and make friends with other hearing impaired youngsters and realising that they are not the only one who has a hearing loss. Also the confidence that they gain from taking part, away from family and siblings, and the life skills that they learn from the experience. And of course having FUN!
What a great weekend!
Of the 22 Feedback questionnaires completed, 19 rated the organisation of the weekend excellent and 3 good, 21 rated the care of the children excellent and 1 good and 20 rated the over-all management of the weekend excellent and 2 good.
"Had a brilliant time doing all the activities"
"Everything was amazing, loved all the activities. A big thank you to all"
"Really enjoyed myself and enjoyed the challenges and being with the group. Fantasitc, thank you"
"It was brilliant - just one complaint can they make the Giant Swing higher!"
"Brilliant, best thing Zip Wire - would love to do it again. Food lovely, very tired and great not to be nagged to shower!!!"
"I really enjoyed the weekend, I've made so many friends and we all plan to meet again very soon! I learnt a lot and now know I am not alone with my hearing loss"
"Had a fantastic time, brilliant leader, food good, zip wire epic, room awesome. Many thanks for all the hard work to make this possible."
"It was amazing - we did so many good things. The adults were fantastic"
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