REWIND: How Princess Diana helped one of the Vale's leading children's charities

By Ellyn Wright

19th Aug 2021 | Local News

For more than 20 years T Hafan has helped life-limited children and their families with care, comfort and lifetime support.

"The perception is very much that we're hospice space, but actually we do a huge amount in the community," said Maria Timon Samra, CEO of T Hafan.

"We work in hospitals, in schools, special needs schools, in people's homes. It's not all about the clinical care, even though that's obviously a massive component of it.

"These children have very, very complex needs. For the most part, a huge feature is the respite care we offer, because the families can't just go away on holiday or go to a hotel, or in fact, most of them can't even leave their children with somebody else overnight.

"So, we look after the entire family. Throughout the year, we also provide sibling support.

"Some children will come to us in the very end of life, but some children are known to us from before birth, if there's something detected in the womb."

The charity was established by Suzanne Goodall, when she felt driven to open the first children's hospice in Wales during her retirement.

After 11 years of fundraising and hard work, T Hafan opened in 1999 and immediately began to bring much-needed comfort and support to families in Wales.

One very special fundraiser was Princess Diana herself. Renowned for her extensive charity work and love for children, the then Princess of Wales became the first patron of T Hafan in 1994, just one year after the Sully hospice site was obtained.

It was Princess Diana who persuaded opera singer Luciano Pavarotti to give a concert in 1995 to raise money so T Hafan could open its hospice.

It was a magical, unforgettable evening at Cardiff International Arena, planned in just six weeks. Even the stars said it was special; the only complaint was that the concert had to end.

Close friends Diana and Pavarotti left the 4,938 audience members spellbound, and they stamped the floor with their feet for an encore.

It was a two-hour programme – put together with the help of Owain Arwel Hughes and presented by TV personalities Nicola Heywood Thomas and Arfon Haines-Davies

Performances from the English Chamber Orchestra, Cardiff Polyphonic Choir, the Nantes Choir guesting from France, the Ardwyn Singers and the Cardiff Bay Singers and soprano Rebecca Evans were also a hit.

Then, in 1996, building of T Hafan's hospice commenced. Diana remained a patron until she died.

Since that night, T Hafan has supported families across the Vale and beyond, with over 850 children and their families benefiting from the care and support provided at the hospice and in their homes.

     

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