Here one of our family liaison officers explains the impact of our Keshet Summer Day Scheme. 

For the average Camp Simcha family, our Keshet Summer Day Scheme is wonderful. It’s a chance to spend quality time together without the stress, hassle and increasing expense of planning a trip – enjoying a fabulous day out, a balm to the struggles they live with – relentless medical appointments, hospital stays, therapy, medication and sleepless nights that make up their life. 

For the parents, it’s also an opportunity to connect to other Camp Simcha mums and dads. And for the siblings, it’s another treat that instead of feeling upset about the time and attention their ill sibling needs, they are instead grateful to him or her for being the reason they are having so much fun. 

But for some families, Keshet trips are even more vital. 

S* was diagnosed with a brain tumour earlier this year. Doctors said surgery wasn’t an option and decided to give S a 6-week course of radiotherapy. 

The radiation would be given Monday-Friday mornings across the entire Summer holidays. 

Vacation cancelled. 

Instead of looking forward to their holiday, the family spent the summer navigating treatments and appointments, along with the enormous emotional impact and strain of having a child with a brain tumour. 

S’s siblings watched their friends and neighbours pack their bags and go away, while their parents were taking turns accompanying their sick sister for treatment. 

It’s an impossible position for any parent to be in, wanting to fully be there for a sick child, while knowing their other kids are missing out on the carefree summers they deserve. 

This is where Keshet makes a real difference. 

When a family is already exhausted and overwhelmed, organising a simple outing can feel like a huge task. But having a beautiful day planned, with food provided, medics on site and everything taken care of means they can simply turn up, be together and enjoy their children. 

For the siblings, it means even more. Keshet gives them something to look forward to. It gives them excitement and fun and memories of their own, at a time when life is revolving around their sibling’s illness. And it gives them something to talk about when their friends come home, bursting with details of their vacations. 

P* is 4. She has a very rare condition – there is only one other child the UK with it. The doctors know very little about it and struggle to help P. She screams most of her waking hours. She has loads of seizures and often chokes. 

Her mum is amazing but looking after her is unimaginably hard. She is on constant alert that they need to rush to hospital at a moment’s notice to save her life. 

P’s older siblings have been dreaming of going abroad. This summer, their parents decided to make their wish come true. As there is no way P can go on an aeroplane, Dad flew off with the oldest children. Mum stayed at home with P and her 6 and 9 year old siblings. 

I sent them toys and treats, but it was the invitation to join the Keshet outings that made the biggest difference. 

Long days running around in the sunshine with other Camp Simcha siblings made them feel like they too had a special summer. Their mum could not have done this on her own. The transport, food, medical care and company made it possible. 

For both these families, Keshet is not just 7 outings. It’s giving them a summer they would otherwise have missed. A chance to get out and make happy memories in the middle of an incredibly difficult time. 

That is the impact of Keshet.
 

*names have been changed to protect privacy. 

{Pictured: some of our team getting involved in one of our Keshet days}