Meet Anya, A Young Carer from Sutton
In August 2022, young carers from Sutton took part in a music project with Create’s professional artist Fernando Machado. The project enabled the young carers to take a break from their caring responsibilities, have fun, learn new skills, build relationships and express themselves.
We spoke to one of these young carers, Anya (12), about her experience.
“Once we got to know each other I became my real self.”
Anya, a young carer
“I take care of my older brother who has special abilities. He is older than me but he acts like he’s three or five years old, so I have to do everything for him. Sometimes my parents help me, but mostly if they’re busy or they’re tired I have to do everything except for the cooking.
“A normal school holiday for me means being stuck in the house caring for my brother, not allowed to go out unless it’s in the garden.
“Taking part in the project was fun, because I haven’t had the chance to do anything fun during the summer holidays so far. Usually I only get the chance to do creative activities when I’m not looking after my brother.
Working Together
“During the project we made different types of music and we all worked together to make a song. We came up with lyrics and we worked on the music, before bringing it all together at the end. I enjoyed that we all came together and worked as a team instead of doing it one by one.
“The project taught me that there are many different types of music and many different ways to make it. I was nervous because I thought we were going to sing into a microphone, but when I realised we were singing with other people I felt calm. The project also showed me that I am good at playing guitar, after taking a one-year break.
“Fernando was really fun to talk to and get to know. When he made a mistake, he just apologised and tried again. At least he owned up to his mistakes, because sometimes people pretend to know things even when they don’t.
“The rest of the group were fun to work with too. Generally, when meeting new people, I’m very quiet and shy but once we got to know each other I became more like my real self. I enjoyed being creative with others. Sometimes I don’t really have a lot of ideas, but when you hear other people’s ideas it can bring thoughts to your mind.
“Having the chance to do creative things is important because you can express yourself in different ways.”
inspired:arts Sutton was funded by Project Spark and The Taylor Family Foundation.
