Aldeburgh Yacht Club host BIGKID Foundation
by Karoline Newman 7 Jun 2017 21:41 BST
7 June 2017
Sailing at Aldeburgh Yacht Club as part of BIGKID activities © Karoline Newman
Urban kids from inner city London estates take to the water at Aldeburgh Yacht Club for half term, under auspices of BIGKID Foundation
10 young people from inner city London estates came to Aldeburgh Yacht Club for half term with youth charity BIGKID Foundation to learn how to sail. The purpose of BIGKID's annual sailing programme is to encourage the young people to step out of their comfort zones and to try something new, instilling within them a greater sense of self-confidence and self-awareness whilst improving their leadership skills. The young people on this programme face a variety of challenges at home; including abuse, domestic violence, absent parents and exposure to gangs and crime.
"I am really impressed with the way the young people have taken to sailing. For many of them, this is completely unfamiliar territory, and they have risen to the challenge and you could see that their confidence improved as the week went on,' says Sarah Davis, head of training at AYC. This project was made possible thanks to the generous fundraising efforts of Aldeburgh Yacht Club as well as the time volunteered by the club's many members and friends.
As well as sailing, the BIGKID group also took part in boating activities on Thorpeness Meare, horse riding, and a story-telling workshop. "This has been a tremendous opportunity for our young people to experience something new and completely different. I have seen a change within them in just this brief period of time. They'll be going back to London with an enormous sense of achievement and hopefully more aware of what they can accomplish when they embrace new opportunities," says Helen Marasha, Development Director at BIGKID Foundation, who herself learnt to sail at Aldeburgh Yacht Club.
BIGKID Foundation is incredibly grateful to everyone at Aldeburgh Yacht Club for the support they have provided for this project. Thanks to a grant from Sport England, Aldeburgh Yacht Club has been able to extend its fantastic resources to us, which has made the experience even more enriching for those young people on the programme.
The BIGKID sailing programme culminated with a prize giving reception at the Aldeburgh Yacht Club on Thursday 1st June, where the young people were presented awards by the club Commodore Tikkii Mawson and Lady Clemency Cunliffe for their achievements during the week.