“Look how happy they are. They have a smile. And they express the same joy every time they go out” confides Isabelle Donati, director of the facility for children and adolescents with combined disabilities in Nissan-lez-Enserune (Sol-N House of the Red Cross).
This Wednesday, April 3, there is a hike from the Moulins car park on the heights of the town west of Béziers. 5 km trip with joëlette for the purpose of transporting a child with a combined disability. “It’s important that they can come out of the structure and open up to the outside.”
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The medical and educational institution is equipped with two off-road wheelchairs enabling the movement of people with reduced mobility along steep paths inaccessible to a standard wheelchair. The equipment was purchased thanks to the support of the Hérault Ministerial Council. Théo, helmeted and protected from the wind, is the only one to take advantage of this trip this Wednesday. His glowing eyes say it all.
“The facility is open to the outside world and participates in all kinds of activities. It is a universe that opens up to them. It allows them to smell the bushes. It’s really amazing. It is an opportunity for them to have a social life and for the public to meet the children who are in SOL-N”.
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Stefan Pocher
The SOL-N Nissan facility welcomes around fifty childrenincluding 14 in boarding schools, suffering from three forms of disability (autism, intellectual disability and combined disability).
Around fifty people, including children from other structures, mainly from Servian and Quarante, but also patients from the nursing home and residents of Nissan-lez-Ensérunes, set out in the middle of the Pinèdes towards Saint-Chapelle.
“We are really in the process of opening up with the idea of incorporating inclusive sports” explains Benoît Castelar, sports instructor. “The goal is to share this moment of walking with other health and social structures, to create a pleasant moment. A bond is formed very quickly with everyone who comes, with adults they don’t know, with young people who like to interact with others and it’s important for them to open up to the outside world, we meet a lot of people, wonderful moments of sharing.”
“They’re excited about this trip. They’re happy to meet people.”
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“It’s funny. There are very nice exchanges, we bond”
This trip is organized for the third time since December 2023 from SOL-N. All generations are represented. Residents of the retirement home join the walk and move at their own pace. “We see them socializing, making friends, getting along, helping each other when needed” explains Delphine Barthes, a psychomotor therapist at the Sol-N house
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Very friendly kids
Magalie is a bus driver. She accompanies children from home to the facility daily. “It’s true they’ve changed by coming here, but like every time they go out. It’s nice to see them so happy, so friendly.”
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Children appreciate this sharing and reach out to others. It may be surprising, but it’s their way of expressing their well-being, says Caroline, a specialist educator and coordinator of the intellectual disability center at SOL-EN. “My youth group dated older people. Seeing them like that makes me very happy.”
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The new departure is scheduled for June 18 at 2:15 p.m. from the Moulins car park. Walk open to all. This type of trip is important, concludes Audrey Caron from the USAEAM Isabelle Marie. She traveled with a group of young people this Tuesday who were all delighted with the hike.
“Very beautiful solidarity between young people and people of a certain age.”
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Stefan Poche
Stefan Pocher