A comforting presence for hospitalized children

How can we best support isolated children during their hospitalization and create happy interludes in their care? That's what La Chaîne de l'Espoir's "Accompagnement des Enfants Hospitalisés" program is all about.

Little Ednisio and his sun godmother Catherine, in his hospital room.

Sun sponsors regularly visit young French patients whose parents are far away or in need of respite, bringing them comfort and moments of escape. This support makes all the difference, both for the young patients and for the care teams. At the Margency Children’s Hospital in the Val d’Oise, three-year-old Ednisio eagerly awaits Catherine’s arrival. With a smile on his face, he throws himself into her arms, affectionately calling her “Tata”. Catherine is his sun godmother, a volunteer from La Chaîne de l’Espoir who has been visiting him several times a week since the start of his hospitalization. Their complicity has grown with each visit: animated readings, decorations created together for Halloween and, today, a series of superhero stickers stuck on his clothes. The little boy from French Guiana has been undergoing treatment for several months, far from his family.

A bubble of comfort

Eline and her sun godmother Nadia, in front of Margency hospital.

One floor up, eleven-year-old Éline shares an obvious complicity with Nadia, also a sun godmother. The teenager appreciates these special moments: ” I love it! She takes my mind off things. I feel confident and we talk about lots of things. ” Creating a bubble of comfort and escape for children who are isolated during their hospitalization– that’s what La Chaîne de l’Espoir’s Accompagnement des Enfants Hospitalisés (AEH) program is all about.

More than a hundred volunteers throughout France, the “parrains et marraines soleil” (sun godparents), undertake to visit a hospitalized French child on a regular basis, to forge a reassuring bond and provide essential moral and emotional support.

” It’s a presence devoted solely to the child, apart from the care. We’re there to enable them to be children, not just sick kids. “says Catherine. As Dr. Férial Stambouli, onco-hematologist and pediatrician at the Margency Children’s Hospital, points out , this human accompaniment makes all the difference: “By creating a space where the illness is put on hold, the sun godparents give the children back their childhood. By creating a space where illness is put in brackets, sun godparents give children back the part of childhood that illness has stolen from them. “

Catherine-and-Nadia-in-training-volunteers

Tailor-made support

To guarantee the quality of this support, the program is rigorously supervised. Volunteers receive initial training and regular support, notably through discussion groups. Visits are made at the request of care facilities, with the parents’ agreement.

Over and above these individual links, a whole chain of solidarity is mobilized around hospitalized children. In the hospitals where it operates, La Chaîne de l’Espoir works closely with the nursing and socio-educational teams to meet the needs of young patients as closely as possible.

Some of the mobilized sun sponsors at<br />
l'Hôpital d'Enfants Margency, gathered for a discussion group.

These moments are precious not only for sick children, but also for their parents. ” As a parent, you want to be there for your child day and night. Day after day, night after night. And as time goes by, fatigue sets in, especially when you have other children. “says a mother whose daughter was hospitalized for several months in Lyon. ” La Chaîne de l’Espoir took over for a few hours a week to help me recharge my batteries. It’s not easy at first, because you feel guilty, but the volunteers are so reassuring and gentle. Not only do the children feel confident, but the parents too. “

Global mobilization

In the nutrition and gastroenterology department of the Armand-Trousseau AP-HP hospital, the association has financed, with the support of the Bouygues Telecom Foundation, equipment for five rooms dedicated to babies and very young children: ergonomic bouncers, soothing nightlights, strollers, rattles, toys and early-learning mats. ” This equipment enables us to recreate a warmer, more stimulating environment for toddlers,” explains Sylvia Moussy, childcare manager. This is essential for their well-being and development. “The impact of these improvements can be measured on a daily basis.

Hôpital-Armand-Trousseau-AP-HP,-Elise-Audrain1

At the Armand-Trousseau AP-HP hospital, psychomotricist Élise Audrain uses equipment supplied by La Chaîne de l’Espoir to enhance the well-being of toddlers. ” It’s a way of getting away from care and creating moments dedicated to awakening, sharing and playing.

This global approach, combining a human presence and improved living conditions, illustrates the strength of La Chaîne de l’Espoir’s commitment. In 2024, 157 children benefited from this invaluable support in some twenty establishments across France.