Young carer from Perth assists with Children In Need TV surprises

05.11.2022 - 14:53 / dailyrecord.co.uk

A young carer from Perth will have his story told on The One Show on BBC television as one of a series of reports connected to Children in Need’s appeal show broadcast later in November.

Perth youngster Zuhair (17) has been invited to join The One Show’s fundraising challenge, The Surprise Squad.

Each night on the 7pm One Show, between now and November 17, the presenters will share updates on big-hearted projects taken on by The Surprise Squad.

Zuhair and the Surprise Squad members are visiting locations around the UK, pulling off surprises for others being supported by BBC Children in Need.

Zuhair is to be one of five inspirational young people who will be in the spotlight. He’s a young carer who receives an emotional boost from Perth -based organisation PKAVS which has benefited from BBC Children in Need funding.

Attending groups for young carers through PKAVS has enabled Zuhair to meet others like him, providing him with the opportunity to feel more connected to peers going through similar experiences.

For the One Show programme, film crews came to the PKAVS Carers’ Centre in Perth to see Zuhair and his family attending a young carers drop-in group.

Zuhair is a young carer for his two younger siblings Mo and Elaine, who were both diagnosed with a form of ataxia six years ago.

Ataxia is a progressive degenerative disease that affects balance, control and eye movement.

Caring for Mo and Elaine involves the whole family and this became especially hard following a car accident which left Zuhair’s mother temporarily unable to walk.

Zuhair started to care more for his siblings to enable his father to keep working. Like so many young carers, this has at times left Zuhair feeling isolated and struggling with his mental health.

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