Twenty two colleagues from across from Places for People Homes will be attempting to climb Ben Nevis on the 12^th September in aid of the charity Clapa. Sixteen colleagues will be flying to Scotland from Gatwick another four colleagues will be driving from Sheffield and another two colleagues will be travelling by train from Preston.

A colleague’s son George was born with a cleft lip & palate and at the 20 week scan Lauren and her husband had no experience or knowledge of a cleft lip & palate. They knew what it is but didn’t know any details or the possible ongoing implications for babies/children with this condition. The first people we were put in touch with were CLAPA. They provide an excellent support network and a wealth of information for families and individuals dealing with cleft lip and/or palate, including advice on feeding, effects on hearing, speech therapy, information on surgery, before and after stories from other families etc. Lauren has already found CLAPA to be an excellent support for their family, mainly through the information made available on their website, from helping them to fully understand what a cleft lip and palate is, to supplying the relevant feeding bottles they required, as cleft babies are unable to feed from standard bottles. George is doing really well, it has never been an issue to him! He has now had two operations, one on his cleft lip and a second to complete his palate. He has regular hearing tests & is likely to require some degree of speech therapy.