Tuesday 10th July 2018
Over 250 military children and their families from all three armed services came together for a special Military reconnection camp in Pirbright this weekend.
The camp, which began Friday evening, was organised by the charity Little Troopers.
Over the weekend the families got to take part in activities including woodland cookery, survival techniques, climbing wall and a party night. The annual camp is an action-packed weekend, which encourages families to reconnect with one another after periods of separation, as well as meeting others who understand the unique challenges of military life.
Founder and Operations Manager at Little Troopers Louise Fetigan said:
“It was so brilliant to see families from all of our Forces come together this weekend. While there isn’t the obvious fear associated with a deployment to a war zone at the moment, the time apart from the family still has many effects on both the children and their parents. This weekend brings them back together or helps to build special memories for them to treasure when they’re away.”
The Summer camp was made possible through the charity’s fundraising. Particular thanks go to the Officers Association who provided the funding for the Party night and Sharla Jones who has organised a number of events and raffle prizes in order to raise funds for the camp.
Little Troopers aims to help families keep the special bond between a serving parent and their families. Louise added “As a charity our support is growing to meet the needs of the children with parents serving. We rely on voluntary support and are so grateful to the Officers Association, Sharla and the team and community in Pirbright; they are always so welcoming and helpful to us.”
Becky Chappell- King who attended the camp with her family said:
“This weekend was hugely important to us as a family as camp has fallen just a few weeks prior to my husband going away for five months and this will be our youngest daughter’s first deployment experience. Until you’ve experienced first hand how much heartache a deployment can bring to a child you really cannot even begin to imagine how hard it is for the whole family. Many people work away from home, some for weeks or months at a time, but mostly you are able to have as much or little contact as you choose………our four year old daughter won’t be able to send her daddy a letter or drawing as there’s no postal facility his end. The memories we’ve made as a family while at summer camp this year will be hers to treasure throughout her daddy’s deployment.”
