Naomi House visit local farm
One of the children enjoys playing with baby chick
A lot of respite activities take place within Naomi House or jacksplace for example hydrotherapy, music therapy and messy play. However it is not uncommon for respite activities to take place outside the hospices, the most recent of which was at a local Farm.
During one particularly busy week in Naomi House all of the children, accompanied by staff visited Longdown activity farm just outside the New Forest.
An impromptu visit, the children instantly received a very warm welcome from all of the staff at the farm and nothing was too much trouble. To their delight the staff kindly shut off an area of the petting zoo to the public so the children could have it all to themselves. This gave them a priceless opportunity to play and feed the animals, including goats, calves and baby chicks. Many of the children also jumped at the chance to feed the horses carrots, which the farm provided.
Visiting Longdown activity farm was a valuable experience for all of the children and for many of them was like nothing they had done before. It was also a great opportunity for the children to have fun with their friends in the safe surroundings of the care team. All of the farm's facilities had fantastic disabled access which enabled each child to roam throughout without a worry.
Around 90% of the funding Naomi House relies on is provided by its supporters whether it be individuals, companies or volunteers. This is just one of the examples of what their hard work helps to achieve.
All the children and Naomi House staff thoroughly enjoyed their morning at Longdown activity farm and are keen to pay them another visit in the near future. Claire Floyd is a member of the play team and helped to organise the farm visit. She said, “All the children had a great time and the staff there we’re all fantastic, they could not have been more helpful
