What we do

Apna works in a variety of ways with children and young people aged 0 to 19 years old from BME (Black Minority Ethnic) families in Glasgow. They are as follows:

Home Care Service

Home care involves Apna staff providing personal care to children and young people aged from 0 to 19 years old with all forms of mild to severe disabilities throughout the day, thus giving parent carer and siblings respite from their caring responsiblities.

After school club

After school club runs twice weekly for children and young people aged 5 to 19 from BME background that have special needs and have very limited or no other outlets for leisure and relaxation in the local community.

The club provides opportunities for children to learn about:

• relationships
• sharing
• healthy living
• hygiene
• personal safety and much more.

It provides children with the opportunity to develop their confidence, self-esteem, build their resilience and social interaction skills. We focus on providing ‘child-centred’ play opportunities. Every effort is made to create such an environment where not so able children can work towards minimising their dependency.

Befriending

We provide a befriender who takes the child or young person out and about to enable them to learn new skills and enjoy leisure activities.

One-to-one support

One-to-One support is provided to children and young people with disabilites from the ages 5 to 19 years old. The aim of this service is to ensure they receive all the support they need in order to perform well at school and learn new skills which help them to improve their confidence.

Playschemes

One of the major features of our service is the play-schemes. The play-schemes run during school holidays throughout the year, spring, summer and christmas.

The play-schemes host a variety of fun activities and outings organised by the staff. They give children a chance to develop their social interaction skills as well as build up their confidence and self-esteem in a friendly and fun environment.

Carers' support group

The carers’ support group offers a platform for sharing information and providing mutual support to families in a similar situation who are from the same ethnic and cultural background. It helps to ensure that families are getting all the support they are entitled to, offering them time for themselves and challenges the isolation they may feel in the wider community.

Carers’ meet once a month and join in activities like:

• yoga classes
• outings
• massage/aromatherapy
• sewing classes.

The object of these activities is to combat stress, build confidence and enhance their quality of life and wellbeing. For the carers’ we support, care for children with various disabilities, it is important that we provide our carers’ with information on what other support is available.

Girls Group

Chandni girls group is a club that offers the opportunity for both disabled children and their siblings aged from 10 to 19 years old to play and work together. This is a weekly run club which allows the members to be involved with various activities such as cooking, outings and learning new skills. The group also is an opportunity for the members to have workshops or have discussions together on health related issues. Through different activities in the club many skills can be introduced to the girls for example social and interactive skills. This is to further enhance their abilities with different issues.

The main aim of the club is to promote the well being of the girls, especially girls with disabilities in the local community. The club also aims to combat isolation issues which the siblings can often experience. The club is held in a friendly environment in which the members can make new friends as well as support each other.

Chandni girls group is a self-funded group with staffing support from Barnardos. members also get involved with raising funds for the group by holding meena bazars and stalls.