CRONFA GOFFA OWAIN ROLANT

OWAIN CLEAVER MEMORIAL FUND

This page details some of the things being achieved with the money donated in memory of our son Owain, who was born on the 7th of November 1994 and died on January the 10^th 1998.

Many thanks to all of you who honoured the memory of our little boy by giving.

1st June 1999

First award of the £50 annual prize and trophy for the under-12 learners' action song competition,(Cān Actol), at the Urdd National Eisteddfod, Lampeter.

21st July 1999

The fund makes cash donations to:

• The Marie Curie Organisation for the purpose of supporting the work of the very special nurses who take terminal cancer sufferers and their families through the last days.
• C.L.I.C. (Cancer and Leukemia In Childhood) for the purpose of supporting crisis breaks in their lovely apartments on the south coast of England. CLIC also supports research and parent accomodation at hospital cancer centres

29th July 1999

The fund supplies toys, art materials, and Welsh books and Videotapes from Siop Y Werin, for use in the children's cancer ward at Llandough hospital, Cardiff, Wales. Life in the special clean room environment of the Eileen Thompson unit can become a bit routine, so these should help provide a little light relief. Welsh material is always in short supply. Diolch i Dyfrig.

29th July 1999

The fund supplies a number of pagers and telephone answering machines to L.A.T.C.H. for the use of parents in crisis. This should help in several ways:

• Families in crisis often receive a lot of well meaning phone calls from anxious friends and relatives. Call screening using the "Relate", (now "Response"), 70 answering machine from BT should restore some privacy, with the added facility for certain callers to use a P.I.N. to "bleep" the family.
• Parents are often away in hospital for long periods of time, and need an answering machine to maintain normal domestic and business links.
• When a child is undergoing hospital treatment or is vulnerable to acute illnesses as a result of chemotherapy, a pager can be left on in a hospital when a mobile can't and this has helped parents continue to work and maintain a home life.
• Between treatments, parents are afraid to go out in case the school rings to say a child is ill or the hospital needs to convey test results or organise visits, treatment etc. Having a pager has allowed families to use the valuable time between treatments in the knowledge that they aren't going to miss an important message.
  Many thanks to Richard and Leanne at BT Direct, now StarMobiles, in Swansea for their help sourcing them.

September 1999

The fund provides the first syringe driver to Fforestfach Health Centre in Swansea, Wales. This will facilitate pain relief for patients with a variety of severe illnesses, but especially endstage cancer. Those using the drivers will be able to live, and possibly die, in the familiar surroundings of home.

May 2000

Owain's fund bought: A digital video camera for the use of families to help remember some of the special times they will have between treatments. Many families only have a home VHS, so the extra quality of DV will mean excellent dubbed copies to keep forever. The camera is available for loan via the Christian Lewis Trust. Many thanks to Hedley from Dixons, Swansea for his help sourcing this.

2001

The fund is still in the process of buying:

• Another syringe driver in a fast response kit to be used by Llandough hospital community nurses.