Annabelle Caesar volunteers to take care of mothers’ babies so that they can attend the PND Recovery course in St Heliers. Without her efforts, these mothers could not spend time focusing on their recovery for a few hours each week. Annabelle tells us why she volunteers…
I am a mother of 3 children aged 9, 11 and 13. I have worked in paid employment part time on and off since becoming a mother, however in October last year the contract I was working on came to its completion and we decided I should stay at home while our two eldest children started new schools.
For some time I had wanted to give back to the community so I looked online and found Mothers Helpers which appealed to me after having 3 children myself.
I registered to help and one day received an email from Kiri asking if I could look after the children while mothers attended a course at St Heliers Bay Community Centre on a Wednesday morning. This suited me so I sifted through our youngest son’s room, found the old Thomas the Tank Engine train set and took off for St Heliers.
I looked after 3 twenty month olds and a 2 two year old. Its amazing how quickly you forget the business of little people. They are quick on their stumbling feet and have the most amazingly inquisitive minds. Over the course of 10 weeks the children and I become great buddies. The satisfaction of giving something back to the community was fantastic, I was rewarded by cuddles and lots of laughs with the children. It was also great watching the mums grow and blossom in each others company.
I would recommend volunteering to anyone who has the time and wants to give a little back.
