“St Mary Gillingham Green Lodge have taken on the sponsorship of a young boy at Step and Learn”
Freemasonry doing what it does best.
George Gower is only 19 months old and lives in Gillingham with his parents Samantha and John. Unfortunately, George was born prematurely at just 29 weeks old. He had a bilateral intraventricular haemorrhage and has been diagnosed with post-haemorrhagic obstructive hydrocephalus. He exhibits gross motor delays due to his medical complications. When George started at Step and Learn in February of this year he could only sit with support, however since attending and receiving therapy with them he can now sit unaided, roll over and has recently started to commando crawl. This is fantastic progress.
He has so much fun at the sessions which are tailored to meet his needs. George is now being encouraged to stand and weight bear while holding on for support. Due to his poor muscle tone this is something he finds very difficult but it’s a target he’s working towards.
The family were guests of the lodge at their white table meeting yesterday (15th December). It was a great opportunity for the members to meet George and see exactly where their money was going. George was a big hit with the members and immediately charmed everyone he met with his happy smile.
Visiting the Lodge
His parents thanked the lodge for their support. They said, “This sponsorship is so important. Just knowing that George will be able to continue to attend Step and Learn takes a great weight off our minds. This treatment isn’t available on the NHS, and sponsorship helps to ensure that Step and Learn can continue to deliver their service for free. We’re so grateful to everyone at St Mary Gillingham Green”.
The worshipful Master, Graham Elder said, “It was wonderful to meet George and his family, and I’m proud that St Mary Gillingham Green has sponsored his place at Step and Learn. We’re really looking forward to seeing how he progresses over the coming years and can’t wait to see the family at our next social function”.
Samantha and John presented Graham with the lodge sponsorship pack, and the family posed for photographs in front of the master’s pedestal before getting a drink at the bar and learning a little bit about freemasonry. Then they enjoyed a fabulous Christmas dinner with entertainment laid on by the lodge, before getting George home to bed.
Step & Learn
Step and Learn is a charity dedicated to assisting the physical and educational needs of children with Cerebral Palsy and associated motor difficulties. Our aim like that of Andras Peto, hungarian founder of Conductive Education, is to view child holistically, educating and motivating the child through play, to become active participants in their lives throughout their day.
Our early intervention programme for pre-school children from birth to five years incorporates the educational values and principals of Britain`s Early Years Foundation Stage (2012). It invites the parent/carer to be fully involved in their child`s learning process, by advising them on how to incorporate the fundamentals of our programmes into the lives of their children at home, thereby empowering the to be at the forefront of their child`s learning and development by promoting home/school collaboration.
The Article was by WBro Mark Lawson,