Some of the lesser-known work we do with adults at Mavar inevitably involves their children. Children who, for one reason or another, have been uprooted, possibly experienced a variety of adverse childhood experiences, and need additional support.

At Mavar, we do this via our expert staff and voluntary teams, often helping the parents to understand, guide, and support their children, to help them achieve good health and wellbeing.

Mavar offers a few, targeted grants for families whose children need to have positive experiences (usually through play and friendship), and often this is best done through the summer camp system.

Often, children coming from the Charedi community have not had access to mixed activities and these can be socially and developmentally helpful for them.

This summer, we had a number of children (boys and girls) of our members who were sponsored by Mavar attending summer camps in London and Manchester, and the feedback from the children and families has blown us away.

“The best thing was the friends I made. I made friends with boys and girls I don’t meet in my life normally”.

“We did challenges I had never done before, like crawling through tunnels. I hope I can do more of this”.

“We did lots of group games and some were in a circle, where we had to introduce ourselves and say things. I think this helped me become more confident to talk. I had to think as well about what to say”.

“It was the most stress-free two weeks of my year”.

“My two weeks at summer camp have been the best weeks of my life. The outdoor activities were refreshing and fun. I feel so much more positive about the school year ahead”.

“Because I had such a good time on camp, I would like to train to be a camp leader”.

“I have noticed a big change in my son since he went on camp. He is more confident and has matured and seems more settled. He is trying new things he would not have done before, like dancing and speaking with more confidence in front of others”.

Mavar is hugely grateful to all our summer camp partners, who made this a resounding success for our Mavar children and members. We hope this project can continue for many years!