Nature Kids

“The wonderful support from Oil Aid has really benefitted all the NatureKids children with the folowing:

Extra teaching to include English, Maths and Science for all ages £3,555.25

Subsidising our move last year, March 2007 £2,000

Subsidising 2 Home Educators Seaside Festival Camps, including equipment and extra staff £1,494.60

Subsidising pupils in crisis, transport, covering our costs £1,458

New children’s bikes, for our regular rides £174,63

Vodaphone mobile data card (giving us working broadband for the first time in this area) £49

solar cover for our above ground pool £75.99

Theatre trip, for teens, thoroughly enjoyed by all £150

Total from July to December: £9,254,47

So we have £15,745.53 remaining

The children continue to thrive and blossom, overcoming some very major difficulties.

One of our children ‘Carl’, aged 14, who had only reached an infant level of reading in mainstream school despite being intelligent, has made 2 years progress in reading and communication in his first 9 months here, despite major problems in his family such as parental illness. The extra teaching and adult support have enabled him to talk about his problems now rather than running off, hiding and crying. He is approaching staff and children and offering to help them. His mother still has not been able to get County funding for our very low fees here, even though they cannot find anywhere else to take him, and she has continued to work through serious illness to keep him here, but the OilAid funding helped with his transport.

As I sat in a gale, holding down our dining gazebo, I had my doubts about my coping with camping this year, but all the children really enjoyed themselves despite lots of rain. The camps help with personal responsibility and socialising. All the children sang a Beatles song in front of a huge crowd – excellent for confidence.

I have just found an excellent extra regular support teacher for NatureKids, who will hopefully start soon and he will be funded by OilAid (it is hard to find the right person for many of our children)

As I said to Marc Thompson, our landlord has asked us to move next door as our present building has bad subsidence (hence the oil leak with the floods) and needs underpinning and full repairs. OilAid will help this to be just a lot of work rather that major crisis for us.

Thank you for helping to turn our children’s lives around!

I continue to appreciate your donation on a daily basis”