We make happy memories for traumatised kids

Sean Mendez tells David Cohen how young lives can be transformed at Solidarity Sports, the charity he helps runs in west London

THERE comes a moment at the end of the week when Jennifer, her husband and their two-year-old daughter run out of money. The 22-year-old mother puts out the last of the cereal for breakfast and butters some toast which has to last daughter Genesis all day.

Jennifer, who fled from El Salvador in May when her husband’s life was threatened by a gang and relies on benefits of just £25 a week while their asylum claims are processed, said: “Every week we run out of food and every week I say to my husband we must make miracle. We turn to a local food bank on a Friday but weekends are the hardest. We go to the park because it’s free. There is no other space to go.”

Recently though, Jennifer found “a new space” run by Solidarity Sports which holds a weekly group in west London for under-fives and which has been transformative. “We live in a depressing hotel room but at Solidarity Sports, I can change the environment and Genesis can mix with other children. When I go there, I bond with other mums. It’s like a second family and it lifts my spirits.”