Palace participants succeed in French exchange: “the trip to France will help Toby believe in himself more”
This summer, eight young south Londoners travelled across the English Channel to France to participate in an exchange programme through Sport Dans La Ville, a charity that supports young disadvantaged young people in France. Here’s what they got up to, during Olympics season!
The aim of the project in partnership with Sport Dans La Ville was to give some of our participants the chance to have an experience at a sports camp in another country, both taking part and also as a sports leader. This was the second time a group of Palace for Life Participants went to support youngsters in France alongside Sport Dans La Ville, and is nearly a year sinceten south Londoners got the chance to travel to Kenya.
Here’s what this new group of young people got up to this time, as told by Palace for Life Targeted Intervention Manager, Sarah Hoddy.
Day One: Travel day! It was an early 4:45 am start, but enough excitement was in the air for us to safely make our way from London St Pancras to Montélimar in the South of France and then onto La Chabotte – our home for the next 6 days!
Day Two: Some of the group spent time with the 14-16-year-old French age group taking part in some initial confidence building and team bonding. Four of the participants were with the other age groups. Riah and Toby went to a farm with some of the younger group (8-10’s) and Paige and Rasharn went with the 11-13 group to do some swimming and fort building in the forest around the camp. All in all, an active first-full day in France!
Day Three: On day three, all of us went to a lake and took part in a canyoning activity. The group went from jumping into water from heights to walking through a river bed in the mountains – a great mix of relaxing in a beautiful spot whilst pushing their comfort zones.
Day Four: Olympic prep day! Everyone was split into their teams and went with a group to create a country, their flag and their motto for the Olympic ceremony. This was a great way to get to know some of the French leaders and participants as the ages were all mixed. They then had a training session in the afternoon, with football challenges, tug of war and other activities.
Mary, the mother of Toby, who took part in the trip, said:
“I am so proud of what he has achieved, even though I know it wasn’t always easy. Toby has said himself that his days with you and the Palace for Life Foundation has “helped me more than my 5 years at secondary school.”
What you and the Foundation do is so important, empowering our young people to have self-belief and self-worth, when society has previously beaten it out of them. The trip to France will hopefully help Toby believe in himself more as he starts his next step of full-time employment. I know he would like to keep in touch with you and be involved in any future projects with the Foundation, if possible, to help consolidate the positive effects the France trip has had on him.”
Day Five: There was a mix of swimming and sports in the morning, with everyone able to choose what they took part in. In the afternoon we all worked as a team and took part in archery, which felt extra special seeing as the Olympics were on at the time. Then, in the evening, the English and French groups teamed up in a music quiz, with everyone sharing music that they liked.
Day Six: We had a visit to the garden on site, with a chance to make some lavender bags to take home, and then came English Day! The team planned all the activities, and despite having to change plans due to the extreme heat, everyone loved it. There was a mix of card games, red light green light, cup pong, and in the evening, there were more chances to play games with all the different age groups. It was a lovely way for us to showcase what we can do, and the leaders loved what we put together.
Throughout our time in at La Chabotte, we shared dinner together and had evening activities.
Day Seven: Day seven saw the group travel to Lyon for some Olympics action…
Day Eight: We had a chilled morning and then made our way to Lyon stadium for the Argentina vs Ukraine football match. The atmosphere was fantastic and it was amazing to be part of the Olympic experience. Argentina won, and their fans knew how to throw a party!
Day Nine: We had a free morning in the morning and then met for a boat tour of Lyon. In the evening we had a final dinner together and reflected on the trip.
Day Ten – Home!
For more information about our work with young south Londoners, head here.