Claudine Morgan, Oxfam’s Livelihoods project worker at Duffryn Community Link in Newport, writes:
We took nine families and five volunteers – 18 adults and 28 children – by bus to Trecco Bay, Porthcawl for the day, the first of six trips planned for local people to meet each other and have fun. The temperature was a blistering 27 degrees and the excitement was rising – especially for those who had never been to a beach before.
As soon as we arrived, all the kids immediately ran into the sea – a wonderful sight. The screaming, splashing and laughing was amazing. They ran in and out of the waves all day long, played a group game of sand cricket, went crabbing in the rocks and made sandcastles.
All the families brought a picnic and we all sat together in the sunshine enjoying each other’s company and swapping stories from the estate.
Exhausted but happy, we boarded the bus back home to Newport. The kids slept and the adults enjoyed a sing-song led by the loudest, funniest and craziest person in Duffryn Community Link – Mr Doug Turner!
Oxfam’s Building Livelihoods and Strengthening Communities projects are part of the charity’s UK Poverty Programme and are supported by the Big Lottery Fund Wales.