A fantastic time was had by all at our first family weekend at Center Parcs in Norfolk. It gave the families a chance to meet with each other and share experiences with others in the same position. Many of these families have never before had contact with other parents who have visually impaired children. Quote from a new dad whose child has micropthamia ‘this has been just amazing, for once, we can walk into a room full of people who do not stare or turn away from us when they look into our childs face, sharing experiences with others in the same position has made us realise we are not the only ones out there dealing with this’

We had 96 individual families attending, 2 villas were for VI young people 18 + and we also had 3 Trustees present. We had a good number of volunteers who all worked extremely hard during the whole weekend.

On Friday we met all of the families as they arrived and a delicious buffet meal was served for tea. Families took the opportunity to chat and enjoy relaxing in a great environment. The children were all excited and making new friends amongst themselves.

Saturday was a full day of activities, fully supported by all our VICTA and LOOK volunteers, the activities were organised through Center Parcs by Vicky from LOOK. Barely time to change and we were heading for the meal at Cafe Rouge for the buddy villa youngsters supported by VICTA volunteers. This was closely followed by the disco. This was the highlight of the weekend, everyone was able to continue meeting other families and the children had a fantastic time dancing and playing games.

Sunday morning was spent in the pool by many, followed by a big BBQ at 12noon. This finished at around 3pm and families continued to enjoy individual time, some going off to do activities with their new made friends. The VICTA volunteers supported the VI young people with swimming and bike riding.

We all had to vacate the villas on Monday morning. Many families stayed for another full day of fun and swimming.

A superb weekend which we would love to repeat again in 2010 funding allowing.

Many thanks to LOOK and MACS for their contribution to the weekend!