National award in memory of Ciara

A CELEBRATION of the life of a Coláiste Muire pupil, who tragically lost her battle with cancer last year, has resulted in pupils at the school, who vowed to honour her memory, being presented with two national awards.
Ciara Conroy from Quin passed away last May aged just 16. Her bravery inspired the school’s transition-year pupils, who were involved in the Young Social Innovators Project, to remember her in a number of ways.
Last Friday, a memorial garden dedicated to Ciara was launched at the school, with those who loved her gathering to remember her generous spirit.
Ciara’s motto was ‘C the Bright Side’, and her friends in the coláiste decided to carry on that message by raising funds for CanTeen Ireland, a support group for teenagers who have or have had cancer.
At the opening of the memorial garden on Friday, Madeline Arkins, a transition-year pupil at the school, remembered, “All through her treatment she inspired us with her bravery and strength. Her beauty shone through in spite of her difficult circumstances. When she died we were all overwhelmed by darkness. We felt empty.”
She went on, “It was the first time anything like this had ever happened in our school community.
“But instead of mourning that she was gone, we decided to focus on the positive, the fact that we were lucky enough to have known her, even if it was for a short length of time.
“We have emerged out of a time of tragedy and darkness and bit by bit we have turned the mourning into celebration and turned people’s lack of knowledge into awareness and we have helped many other teenagers like Ciara,” she said.
Madeline explained CanTeen allows teenagers to meet up with others their own age who understand what they are going through.
“This was very close to Ciara’s heart; it gave her a support she couldn’t find anywhere else,” she said.
Speaking about the memorial garden, Madeline added, “We wanted to create a peaceful area dedicated to Ciara so her memory would be solidified in the school. We hope we’ve made Ciara proud and that she’s smiling down at us from above.”
As part of their project, the pupils sold Christmas cards for CanTeen, which is not funded by the Government, as well as hosting information events aimed at educating people about teenage cancer. Earlier this year, they raised over €8,000 for the organisation with a fashion show. They also compiled a collection of poetry and anecdotes written by Ciara’s closest friends and according to Madeline have reached over 80,000 people through the project.
At the Young Social Innovators of the Year Awards 2011, the school pupils’ project was awarded the ‘Making our World Healthier Physical Health’ challenge award. They also received the YSI Fundraising Challenge award  at the Young Social Innovators Awards recently.
The judges commended the pupils for what they described as the project dealing with a deeply sensitive, personal issue in a way that was creative, inspiring and positive, through celebrating the life of a school friend. They raised awareness of the issue of teen cancer and raised significant funds, while leaving a lasting memorial of their friend.
The winning pupils received their prize from Dr Nazih Eldin, director of health promotion, HSE, at an awards ceremony in the Citywest Convention Centre attended by An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny TD, as well as almost 3,000 young people.
The ceremony marked the conclusion of the 10th Young Social Innovators Annual Showcase and Awards.
More than 5,500 young people participated in Young Social Innovators’ project-based programme this year, undertaking some 350 projects to find and implement solutions to the social issues that concern them.
Justice, democracy, welfare, community, equality and the environment were among the issues addressed, with projects focussing on the lack of youth and family resource facilities, teenage mental health, teenage pregnancy, community renovation schemes and cancer care.