My Journey through F4YP

This is Natalie’s story, she chose to do her work experience week at F4YP and wrote down her story.

“When me and my family moved to the UK in 2017, me and my brother didn’t know much English and it was a bit difficult to start conversation and make new friends. In 2019 we moved again, here to Bedford (Kempston) And me and my brother were a bit more confident with the language and my mum wanted to get us to go to a club, specifically a sports one. Then she found out about F4YP and me and my brother were very excited. She said she wanted us to carry on having physical activities during the week and to make us more confident with other kids our age in a new place. Me and him really enjoyed it; it was fun and everyone was very welcoming . The best thing about F4YP is the amount of inclusivity and there is all types of activities to do for all ages.  

For me, F4YP makes my day better and going to their clubs is the highlight of my week. I have made tons of new friends and grew in confidence along the way. I tried a lot of new things like rock climbing and canoeing!  I feel excited and happy to come to clubs because I enjoy them.  I feel more confident to be around a lot of people  and to be able to talk to everyone. I learnt how to play different sports and got better at the ones I played already. 

I love F4YP because we get to do all my favourite sports like badminton, rounders and most importantly dodgeball. They did impact my mental health in a good way as I had people to turn to when I didn’t have someone to talk to in the beginning. I enjoy being with and talking to all the staff members. They are very understanding and friendly. Overall I’d be sad if I couldn’t go to their clubs.”