'They have given us nice memories'

Tara Kar is grateful for the “practical support” from her Camp Simcha family liaison officer after her son Luca was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia at 18-months-old. Luca, who is now three, is in remission after undergoing chemotherapy treatment and a bone marrow transplant.

“We found out about Camp Simcha pretty much straight away,” Mrs Kar says. “People at the hospital found out we were Jewish and recommended Camp Simcha — we really didn’t know what to expect.”

The liaison officer “is someone to call when things are rough”. The Barnet mum says practical support extends to house-hunting.

“My husband and I work part-time. I was heavily pregnant when Luca was diagnosed and we found out that there was damp in the house — Luca couldn’t live in it. We gave our officer the criteria and she looked at around 50 houses for us to choose from. We wouldn’t have had time to do that.”