By Mirka Mozer, Secretary General of Danish People's Aid
For most children, the summer holidays are full of experiences: an ice cream at the harbor, a day in summerland, cinema tickets on a rainy day or fries after a trip to the beach. The kind of days that give you something to talk about when everyday life hits again. But for far too many children from financially challenged families, the summer holidays are mostly long – and not long in the good way, where the days flow together and where one experience replaces the other. No, long in the way where you are just at home and the days are the same.
It is called experience poverty when children miss out on experiences, communities and memories because the family's finances are not enough. And no, it may not be the end of the world to be at home during the holidays. But you are affected by being left out of what other children talk about and build friendships around. Because holiday experiences give you something to talk about when everyday life knocks on your door and the teacher asks, "So what did you do during the holidays?" The memories give you the courage to raise your hand and feel like part of the pack. When you have nothing to share, you quickly learn to keep quiet, or maybe manage to mumble that it was perfectly okay just to be at home.
And the numbers should make us shift a little uneasily in our deck chairs. 83% of this year's applicants for Holiday Assistance say they wouldn't go on summer vacation without the help. In addition, more than half have not been on a week's summer vacation within the past three years, and 20% of the applicants have never been on a summer vacation together as a family. So the children don't expect all-inclusive trips abroad, they just want to experience something exciting and be with their parents in a different way than they are used to.
At Danish People's Aid, we meet the families behind the numbers. For example, Anders, a single father who participated in a holiday through Danish People's Aid in 2024, said that because of his finances, he always had to prioritize holidays and experiences. During the stay, he went on a bike ride with his daughter, and the family made new friendships that last to this day. "My daughter still talks about that trip," says Anders. Although Danish People's Aid's Holiday Aid is first and foremost about the children, it also means a lot to the parents. They get a break from an often stressful everyday life, and a break from always having to say "no, we don't have the money for that.".
This year, Danish People's Aid is sending approximately 1,000 families on summer vacation. Holiday assistance consists of a one-week vacation somewhere in Denmark. This is only possible because volunteers step in. Volunteers like Brian Nielsen from North Jutland, who has been involved for more than 30 years and is still looking forward to the next stay. Over the years, Brian Nielsen has experienced how children blossom during the vacation and simply don't want to go home.
As a society, we should not accept that children from financially disadvantaged families just have to stay home while the rest of us collect holiday memories. Fortunately, we can all do something. You can become a holiday volunteer at one of Dansk Folkehjælp's holiday stays and help give financially disadvantaged families holiday memories for life. You can also make a contribution to Dansk Folkehjælp's Holiday Help on MobilePay 109132 and thus help give a child a summer holiday that is not about deprivation, but about community, laughter, new friendships and a story to tell when school starts again.
