We are delighted to announce that almost £3000 – which you have helped raise – has been used to purchase a new set of ‘Discovery Boxes’ for the patients in the Children’s Cancer and Haematology Unit at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. The toy boxes contain new state-of-the-art multi-sensory toys and equipment designed to increase stimulation of the senses during those all-important early development years.

Often used by children with special needs, multisensory toys stimulate the kids’ visual, sound and kinaesthetic sense. The bright colours, fun sounds, and different tactile surfaces of the toys in the ‘Discovery Boxes’ can encourage children to interact and explore their surroundings. These toys will help the development of young children in the ward, from birth to the age of 10 to 12, whose    development skills have been held back as a result of their cancer treatments.

Components such as the LED fibre-optic string lights and image projector will be used predominantly for children being treated in isolation units within the ward to ensure their fundamental learning and development needs are being met, as well as provide a calming and fun atmosphere during what can be perceived as, one of their scariest and most stressful experiences.