Mencap trip to France - 11th to 14th September 2008
We had a very good crossing by ferry on Thursday the 11th of September and eventually arrived about 4.00 pm at the Youth Hostel in the centre of Lille. After being allocated our rooms we got changed and went to the welcoming party at la Mairie de Faches. Various representatives of the town, the local twinning association and our hosts were present to welcome us with speeches and drinks. We were then invited to a local restaurant and had a superb meal with our French hosts.
On Friday we visited a very impressive "Centre d'adoptation pour le travail" where 90 local handicapped people are employed, on a commercial basis, preparing and packing various goods for the supermarket shelves. Our group was made welcome and encouraged to participate in these activities. We then had a welcoming drink and a lunch in the local canteen.
In the afternoon, we visited the workshops, which were located in the same building, where another group of about 60 handicapped people were busy doing other activities, either to prepare them for work or retirement. It was very rewarding to see how our visitors got on so well with their French hosts, who were also enjoying the occasion. We then returned to our Youth Hostel and after a short rest prepared ourselves for the evening meal at yet another restaurant. This time, the party was even bigger with various members of the local twinning association being present. The meal was excellent.
Next morning we had a choice, either to visit a local Zoo or to go shopping. We opted for shopping. We went to a big shopping centre and were shown around by various members of the local twinning association. Afterwards, we went to the Faches-Thumesnil centre for the handicapped, where, together with local members, we had a very good lunch with music, singing and even dancing. Two superb gateaux with the logos of Faches and St. Neots were displayed and were eventually consumed. After lunch, we all went bowling and we had a lovely time.
In the evening we had supper at the same centre, dancing and karaoke. Our group enjoyed it very much; even the girl in a wheelchair was dancing with newly made friends. At the end of the evening we thanked our hosts very much for their generosity and we exchanged gifts. We returned to our Youth hostel about midnight. Everybody was happy. On Sunday morning there were a few tears when it was time to leave for home.
Report by Zophie Watkins.