A SUMMER scheme that was set up last year by a newly qualified teacher returned to Derrygonnelly and Belcoo recently following its success in 2020.

Last year, Adrian McGurn, from Derrygonnelly, ran the scheme to get vulnerable children back together and working cohesively and bring some normality back into the lives of primary school children’s lives.

This year, he took a different approach, but again was committed to bringing children together to create brilliant memories.

Adrian said: “I always remember going to the summer scheme when I was a teenager and loved it, so I hope the children went away saying the same about the week.

“We worked between two venues again this year – Derrygonnelly and Belcoo – and had more than 100 participants between both venues, which was amazing.

“I know from speaking to the children there has been no youth club for more than one and a half years, so I think the kids were buzzing to be back playing with their friends.

“This is a cross-community project and is great to see all the schools mixing and making new friends.”

As part of the funding was from the Education Authority, a focus was put on mental health and wellbeing, nutrition, arts and crafts, online safety, and much more.

“We had Hannah Curr, a nutritionist, in to give a talk on healthy eating; we had Nexus NI to talk about online safety; we had Caroline Greene to give a talk on mental health and wellbeing; and Genevieve Murphy held an arts and crafts workshop.”

Further to that, there were also trips to Gortatloe and Cladagh Glen, as well as games of volleyball, dodgeball, football, rounders and basketball.

“This has been a tough year for our teenagers and I hope that we gave them a great week and one to remember.

“It is so prominent right now that we do take care of our mental health and speak up if we are not feeling okay. We also had our meals provided by the wonderful Be Prepped,” added Adrian.

He paid special thanks to the team of leaders – Ciara, Garvan, Niall, Tamara, Stephen and Kira, as well as Frances and his brother, Stephen, who were a great help behind the scenes.

“This scheme would not be able to run without their amazing help. I would like to thank the Education Authority for helping to fund this scheme along with Lakeland Community Care, which has been the driver behind the project.

“I’d also like to thank my dad, Pat, for all his support and for allowing us to host the summer scheme.

“I hope this summer scheme will make a major difference to our children’s lives and help with their physical, mental health and well-being,” said Adrian.