As I have already mentioned, our YSI project is called Tír na nÓg and is focused on loneliness in the elderly. Our main aim is to combat loneliness in the elderly and to help the elderly become more involved in our community. Throughout the school year we have been involved in many organisations such as Homelink and AgeAction and we have hosted many events to raise money for such organisations. The organisations we have fundraised for phone elderly people on a daily basis to simply chat about their day and have a friendly conversation. Loneliness has the power swallow you up, it can make you feel as though you are drowning in sorrow and that the world doesn’t care about you. Once loneliness surrounds you, you feel you can’t escape it. With the help of organisations like Homelink, loneliness loses its power and retreats back into the shadows. Small things like receiving a phone call, and having the chance to talk about how they are feeling, or the weather, can make a big difference in the lives of people who suffer from loneliness. Homelink also provides the service of gardening and they do small repairs in the homes of elderly people, as well as organise social events. However all these services cost money, and it would be unfair to ask their elderly members to pay a substantial amount of money for the service. Therefore for our YSI project we have already raised over €2000 from our bake sale, YSI table at the Bazaar and from selling heart-shaped candy canes on Valentine’s Day, to help to improve the lives of elderly people who may suffer from loneliness. I have just given you a brief synopsis of the work our YSI group have done over the last seven months. Now that we have done the work, the next stage of our YSI project is to present the work we have done to a set of judges and to other YSI groups; this is called the Speak Out. During our mid-term break Emma, Carla, Dillon and I dedicated some of our time to writing up our YSI report. Once the report and the work was completed our next task was to come up with a way to communicate to others who the St Gerard’s YSI group, and explain to them what we have done. You may think, well that’s easy just stand up and read out the first paragraph of this blog! After we watched a couple of videos of last year’s YSI Speak Out, we realized we had a lot of work to do! We only have two minutes to present our project such a way that people will remember us. YSI Speak out venue in the RDS! With only two weeks to spare we spent all the time we had to create a memorable and interesting presentation. During YSI class we all sat in group and brainstorming and exchanging and improving ideas. After a lot of productive discussion we decided on visually showing the audience how we have improved the lives of elders who suffer from loneliness (which was originally Lily and Anabel’s idea!). While a group of us would be acting, another group of us would be reading about the work we have done and the positive impact it has had on elderly people in our community. We did an incredible amount of work in those two weeks, and our Speak Out soon looked very promising! I think we were so productive, as we all worked together as a team and every YSI member was equally passionate about our project. Anna, Emma and me at the YSI Speak Out! At first I was worried I would not be able to go to the Speak Out, since the date found itself during my week of work experience in the EU Commission Representation in Dublin. However once I explained to the Commission the importance of this event, they were more than happy to allow to me take the day off for which I am very grateful! At 8.30am on Tuesday, March the 21st you would find the whole YSI group on a bus to … all dressed in black! We decided on wearing black, as black could represent loneliness and it might catch people’s attention if we are all in black. Once we arrived at … we got our picture taken (who knows, we might be in the local paper!) and quickly organised ourselves. A picture of our YSI group in the Wicklow Voice! The presenters were hilarious and very entertaining, over the next couple of hours they called out schools from all over Leinster to the stage. They were much more schools present that I had expected! Every time they called out a school, we all sat waiting nervously, afraid to would be us, however almost every time a fresh wave of relief swept over us as they didn’t utter the words ‘St Gerard’s YSI’! I was gobsmacked by the level of preparation and work the others school put into their presentations, some of them were truly mesmerizing! The range of projects presemted was broad, however I did notice a trend; there seemed to be quite a lot of projects based around the issue of health, obesity and lack of exercise. Although each project was different and unique, they all had a similar theme! The Presenters at the Speak Out! We found ourselves on the stage after almost three-quarters if the school had already performed, so we had a lot to live up to! For a moment I felt as if we were performing our musical for the audience, as the sensation of being on stage felt strangely familiar! Below is a picture of us doing our YSI presentation: I believe we were all happy with our performance, we did it justice and hopefully we have managed to convince the judges that we have the best project! It felt strange as we walked off the stage, as there had been such a big build-up to this very moment and now it was over. However I am certain all the hard work has paid off! Although we have officially finished our YSI project, the issue of loneliness in the elderly is not solved yet. We have done all we could to improve the issue, but it is an ongoing problem that will take a lot more people and time to solve. So if you ever find yourself bored, or having nothing to do, maybe you could pop down to the local nursing home and spent half an hour chatting to the people. That half an hour would cost you nothing, but could transform the day of a lonely person; just keep that in mind. A few pictures of our YSI group after the Speak Out! Our exciting day wasn’t over yet! I couldn’t believe, and still can’t, that the school brought us to the cinema to see the new Beauty and the Beast! I remember during YSI we asked the teachers to bring us to the new Beauty and the Beast, since we just did the musical however we never dreamed that actually would! We spent a relaxing hour having lunch and talking about the Speak Out (and also buying sweets for the cinema!). Then, with smiles plastered to our faces we entered the cinema and a bubble of joy burst within me, I couldn’t resist so I let out a loud laugh! In a nutshell, the movie was an emotional rollercoaster, I was incredibly grateful and happy to be here watching the movie with all my friends, I was sad that our musical was over, impressed with the movie and yet again, amazed at how much fun Transition Year is! It honestly was one of the best movies ever, and I think I speak of behalf of the whole YSI group, the special effects were mesmerizing! Emma and me looking very excited to see the new 'Beauty and the Beast'! I had a great day, with great people and I will never forget the YSI Speak out or watching Beauty and the Beast with my friends. I am eternally grateful for having the opportunity to be involved in such amazing things such as the Young Social Innovators Programme, and for having such kind and helpful teachers to help and guide us with our project and then also bring us to see a movie that means so much to us! Thank you!
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YSIYSI stands for Young Social Innovators. For our YSI project we have decided on helping loneliness in the elderly and putting unity back in community! I will keep you updated on events that occur in YSI during the year. Archives
April 2017
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