MEGAN Baker House offers a 'lifeline' to children with disabilities.

That is the view of one father, whose child has received life-changing help from the charity, based near Leominster.

Darren Phelps, whose son Alfie has cerebral palsy and has been attending Megan Baker House for around four years, also says the centre offers a place of help, support, advice and comfort not only to the children that attend, but vitally, also to parents.

Mr Phelps made the comments in support of our Project Chrysalis campaign – a bid to raise £35,000 to sponsor a year of life-changing conductive education at Megan Baker House for 10 children for one year.

He said: "It's so easy to underestimate the work they do at the centre. They teach simple everyday things that a child without a disability can do without thinking. They teach Alfie simple tasks like clapping his hands together. They teach him to try to walk straight – Alfie even says now 'I need to walk like Chloe teaches me'.

"These simple life tasks are just the start. They teach them other skills to cope with everyday life and also really importantly they teach confidence to do things and confidence to be happy within his disability, so it won't stop him doing what he wants to do. I am convinced Alfie’s determination stems from what he learns at Megan Baker House. He believes anything is possible and that is such a wonderful quality in a six-year-old with his disability."

Mr Phelps said staff at MBH have known Alfie for years and while he warms their hearts, he also adores the team there and they have become a huge part of his life.

"As parents of a disabled child we have many people involved in Alfie’s care. We often have to fight battles to get the right care for him – yet with Megan Baker House they are forever exceeding our expectations with the level of detail they put into Alfie’s progression," Mr Phelps said.

"It's not just the work they do in the classroom. It's the work they do outside it with extensive reports on what they have been doing with Alfie and what they hope to achieve in the future. "These reports are a great source of information for his physio team and his school.

"All round, Megan Baker House offers a lifeline to children with disabilities but it also offers a place of help, support, advice and comfort not only to the children that attend, but vitally, also to the parents of the children. The staff and the people who run the charity should be so proud of what they have given to us and the other families they help – and we as a family cannot thank them enough for everything they have done for us and Alfie.

"I am 100% convinced Alfie wouldn't be anywhere near where he is now without the help he, and we get, from the centre.

"If this story helps raise just a little bit of money for the centre – even just enough for one child to get a place at Megan Baker House – it will make it worthwhile taking the time to share it."

Ways to donate:

Visit justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/meganbakerhouse/projectchrysalis

Send a cheque to Megan Baker House, Moreton Eye, Leominster, HR6 0DP

Call the charity on 01568 616179 to arrange a BACS transfer