The children’s festival celebrated its 10th anniversary this Saturday, June 17, with a program rich in activities at the Capitany stadium in Foix. A popular festival of Francas honoring the children of ALAE, but especially, this year, those hospitalized at Chiva.
Despite the stifling heat, young and old alike were there this Saturday, June 17, at the Capitany stadium, in Foix, for the tenth anniversary of the children’s festival.
Organized by the Francas, the latter accompany the children of the ALAE of the Foix-Varilhes agglomeration, in the spotlight for a day, to present to their families the fruit of a long year of work in their respective schools, including some shows .
Badminton, football challenges, petanque, stilt course, or expression games where you could learn to dance hip-hop or do choreography, the latter had also set up activities to liven up the day, with the presence of around forty association stands.
Young and old were able to enjoy several activities this Saturday, June 17
A festival above all solidarity
A festival that also and above all wants to be supportive of hospitalized children. For the second consecutive year, on their own initiative, the children of the ALAE wished to create objects, games and activities adapted to the children of the intercommunal hospital center of the valleys of Ariège (Chiva) and sold during the market of summer, this Saturday. Bracelet kits, crab games, videos and tutorials, all profits were donated to the pediatric department of Chiva to improve the daily lives of children.
Moreover, with the funds raised during the previous edition, the hospital center was able to create a vegetable garden. “We have a lot of anorexic children or children with eating disorders who come to dig in, put their hands on the ground”, rejoices the head of the pediatric department, Lucas Percheron. Actions that make sense for the latter and make it possible to get out of “the very rigid hospital yoke” by bringing this “external freshness”.
Creation of a vegetable garden within the Chiva
In addition to this day of mobilization for sick children, with his troop including Sandra Fardjaoui, facilitator in the pediatrics department, Doctor Lucas Percheron regularly visits the ALAE to teach them the course of care and thus play down the hospital. Last year, they also launched the “teddy bear hospital” operation, in conjunction with the Francas du Pays de Foix.
The Chiva pediatrics department participated for the second consecutive year in order to help hospitalized children
An action that was visibly right for the particular commitment of the young children of the ALAE this Saturday. “With the release of Covid-19 and the somewhat dirty image of the hospital, the children were afraid to go there. They were full of anxiety and apprehension, like the impression of going to the slaughterhouse. Raising awareness, the teddy bear hospital, were a real trigger for them”, says one of the members of Francas.
Great novelty this year, the children of the ALAE have also produced several paintings which will be displayed in the Chiva pediatrics department to give a little balm to the hearts of the children, because as Sandra Fardjaoui points out, “school children can one day become these hospitalized children.” Hence the importance of these mobilizations to discover the hospital environment differently…