There was a strong representation from Westmeath at the Foróige Youth Citizenship Awards, which took place in the Citywest Hotel & Conference Centre in Dublin on Saturday, 29 April.
204 groups took part in the awards with projects covering topics such as equality; homelessness; mental health; culture and much more. Representing Westmeath were District Foróige Club in Athlone, Fiesta Foróige Juniors and St. Joseph’s Foróige Club.
For their project on the issue of loneliness amongst the elderly, Fiesta Foróige Juniors won a ‘Ones to Watch’ Award.
The young people noticed that there was a need to address the issue of loneliness amongst the elderly in the community. They decided to pay regular visits to a nursing home in the local area, and provide entertainment for the residents. The group researched activities they could do, and organised bingo, card games, carol singing, Easter crafts and storytelling. The project has benefitted the older people in the community, and the young people have also learned a huge amount from spending time with them. The group plan to continue their visits to the nursing home.
St. Joseph’s Foróige Club carried out a questionnaire of members of the community and met with members of the Tidy Towns committee in order to identify a need in the community to be addressed. The group decided to deal with both a need for activities for young people in a rural town and the issue of litter.
The group’s disco was held in aid of Temple Street and included working with the hospital on their ‘Trick or Treat for Temple Street’ campaign. The group also became involved with the Tidy Towns Nature Study.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, Sean Campbell, CEO of Foróige said: “This programme empowers young people to make positive change in the world through examining their local community, coming up with a way to make it a better place and then working hard to make it happen. We are so proud of everything these young people have achieved in their communities and it’s wonderful to see all the skills they’ve gathered in the process.”
The event was opened by Minister of State for Mental Health and Older People, Helen McEntee. Music on the day was provided by Jenny Greene from RTÉ 2FM as well as bands Seo Linn and The Strypes.
