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SR ETHEL Normoyle’s heart is so big you’d wonder where she finds room for any other vital organs in tes mm BUS W AB Bes BO Non

She is clearly very uncomfortable when people describe her as “a liv- ing saint” or most often the “Mother Theresa of South Africa”.

The Lissycasey woman will look at you in bemusement and say “but I met Mother Theresa – she was a truly wonderful woman.”

Yet every person who meets Ethel will say there is a light about her, a huge ability to comfort, to pay atten- tion and to make the person she is speaking to feel like the only person in the universe.

When Ethel Normoyle told her family in Lissycasey she was going to join the Litthke Company of Mary, there were – according to those who know her – a few disbelieving eye- brows raised.

The attractive young woman who loved singing and the company of her friends and neighbours seemed an unlikely candidate for the veil, it TST BLO

When she was asked to go to Africa as a trained nurse, she has no hesita- tion in admitting she didn’t want to leave her beloved county Clare.

“My family predicted I’d last six months”, she says, looking back on more than 30 years in Africa.

Ethel’s first posting in Africa was to Pretoria and while this was a chal- lenging post, her next assignment left her totally at a loss at first.

She arrived in the township out- side Port Elizabeth and was totally stunned by the extent of the poverty and the need.

In 1988 she had no base, no build-

ing, no introduction and no blueprint for how to proceed.

A white woman in Apartheid South Africa, walking among people living in dire poverty in shacks, she was taking a huge personal risk.

“IT just kept coming back and talk- ing to people. I wore my veil in those days to try to let people know I was not siding with whites who support- ed Apartheid,’ says Ethel.

Her first breakthrough was when a township woman who had a tree

in the yard beside her shack offered Ethel the use of the tree.

“IT wondered at the time, what use can I make of a tree? Then summer came and I saw just how important a tree is in giving shade.”

She began with a small school for the children under that tree and moved on to set up a clinic in a metal container.

Shortly afterwards, sympathetic members of the business community in Port Elizabeth built three rooms

for her in the township and that was the beginning of Missionvale.

Over the years, she has suffered personal physical and verbal attack, being forced out of her home by white neighbours who didn’t want people from the township calling to a door in their neighbourhood.

Once, she was kidnapped and stabbed. The plucky daughter of Lis- sycasey fought off her attackers, and drove herself to hospital after being stabbed through the lung.

The love she has for people shines out of her.

She rarely talks to anyone with touching them, and she distributes hugs with genuine joy.

Her attenae is always tuned to be- ing helpful and when a deadline is approaching for stories to be sent to

revealed how young children were wreaking havoc in communi- ties across the county.

Drug abuse, robbing other chil- dren, damaging schools and cars and intimidating others were among the main offences for which young chil- dren were caught.

Children from the age of just seven are getting involved in crime. While those very young children mainly engage in petty crime, the serious- ness of the offences intensifies as those children progress to their early Kote he

The problems grow when young children get their hands on illegal drugs and they then lose all control.

Agencies say that factors including lack of parental control and lack of suitable community services con-

tribute to the problems facing young children at risk. The children’s court is testament to

this on a weekly basis. One particu- lar tragic case in recent weeks once again highlighted the failings in the

system. A 16-year-old boy from Ennis re- turned to his home, having spent

over a year at Oberstown boys centre for young offenders.

The boy, who has at least two dozen previous convictions, deteriorated quickly after his release to his fam- ily home.

It wasn’t long before he began to re- offend and quickly found himself in court, after he broke into a business in Ennis and kicking mirrors on two cars in his neighbourhood.

The boy’s mother didn’t attend the court sitting and both the State and the boy’s solicitor expressed their concerns that she didn’t turn up to support the teen.

A member of staff at the boys’ cen- tre spoke out and said the boy had made significant progress at Obers- town, but a lot of the good work was undone, on his discharge from there.

There was demand for his bed and Oberstown staff felt they had “exhausted” what they could do for him.

Clare Youth Services agreed that there was no support for the boy at home. He was sentenced to a term at St Patrick’s Institution.

His case highlighted inadequacies in the family system, but every case is different. One thread is constant in the majority of young troublemakers’ cases – some aspect of society has failed. An overhaul is long overdue.

PUBLIC patients in Clare are wait- ing up to a year for a critical lifesav- ing test.

It emerged this week that Clare patients referred to the University College Hospital Galway for colon- OScopy examinations are waiting up to 12 months.

Those referred to the Mid Western Regional Hospital Limerick for these crucial tests to determine life-threat- ening diseases such as bowl cancer are waiting up to nine months.

Urgent referals to the Limerick hos- pital are seen within “two to three” weeks, while urgent referrals to UCHG are “prioritised”.

Last October Kilkenny woman Su- sie Long died from bowl cancer.

The brave woman had highlight- ed how a seven-month wait for her colonoscopy meant that it was too late when her cancer was detected.

Shortly after her death, the govern- ment vowed that such a fatal delay would never occur again, but yet the waiting list remains.

SUN our CBM hmele tone more ce

ing the waiting lists to see if those on the waiting lists still require the test and then assessing patients for the Treatment Purchase Fund.

Colonoscopy is the endoscopic examination of the large colon and of the small bowel with a fibre op- tic camera on a flexible tube passed through the anus. It can provide a visual diagnosis and grants the op- portunity for biopsy or removal of suspected lesions.

Meanwhile the Irish Country Wom- an’s Association 1s also critical of de- lays in the healthy service.

The ICA is to discuss waiting times of up to two years in Limerick for mammogrammes for woman who are concerned but have no obvious Symptoms of breast cancer at its na- tional meeting in Cork on Saturday.

The meeting will also discuss the delays in the publication of enquiries into breast cancer services in Limer- ick, Galway and Portlaoise, including the report into the misdiagnoses of Killaloe woman Rebecca O’ Malley.

After learning that, for ‘legal rea- sons’, the release of the HIQA report into her breast cancer misdiagnosis

has now been delayed for a third time in as many months, the mother of three is demanding that the ability of individuals or groups within our health services to delay or block the publication of independent reports that deal with issues relevant to pa- tient safety, should be severely cur- Aer!

“It really makes me despair that any recommendations within the re- port into my case still cannot be im- plemented,’ said Ms O’ Malley.

The report was initially to be pub- lished on December 17.

LIMERICK City Council was yes- terday accused of seeking to achieve a boundary extension by stealth through purchasing houses for peo- ple on its housing list in south-east ETc

Fianna Fail TD Timmy Dooley said the policy was “unacceptable” and that the council’s actions had the potential to create local authority ghettos.

“Clare County Council carefully implements a housing policy of en- suring there is a spread of local au- thority tenants in housing estates in the interests of social harmony.

‘However, if Limerick City Coun- cil is purchasing in these areas you won’t get the balance right. What Limerick City Council is doing is en- tirely wrong. It is not acceptable and should not be seen as a solution to the

problems that Limerick City Council eke

“Where do you stop with this? Will Limerick City Council be able to purchase homes in Dublin? The mat- ter needs to be regulated and legisla- tion may be needed.”

Clare County Council has written to the Limerick City Council Man- ager, [om Mackey, on the matter.

The Clare letter asked to know Where the houses had been pur- chased.

In response, Mr Mackey stated, “You will appreciate that in the inter- ests of both protecting people’s right to privacy and in promoting social integration, it would not be appropri- ate for me to make public the details requested by your council.”

Cllr Cathal Crowe (FF) of Meelick said, “If Limerick City Council is ex- porting into Clare the small minority of families that have been causing

trouble, it would be met with staunch Opposition.

“However, as a councillor in the area, I would be the first to welcome genuine people into the community fabric in south-east Clare.

“It is regrettable that Limerick City Council could not have been more honest and forthright in relation to its policy.”

Describing Limerick City Council’s attitude as “cavalier”, Cllr Crowe said that he believed that Limerick City Council had purchased up to seven homes in Westbury.

“I believe that the city council has enquired about purchasing homes in Clonlara, Meelick, Parteen and Ard- nacrusha,” he said.

Cllr Crowe said that he had request- ed Limerick City Council to provide details of the number of homes it had purchased in Clare, but that the city council had refused.

A CONTENTIOUS plan by a vol- untary housing association looks set once more to be refused by Ennis Town Council unless it is radically Karel Ceeren

Already, Cluid Housing Associa- tion has been refused planning per- mission for a five-storey apartment block adjacent to Ennis Tennis and Badmintion Club.

The proposal involved plans to con- struct 21 one-bedroom apartments and six two-bedroom apartments.

However, the Dublin-based housing association scaled back its plans and is now seeking permission to con-

struct three- and four-storey build- ings in the grounds of Waterville House to accommodate 14 one-bed- room apartments and three two-bed- room apartments.

The proposal has provoked re- newed opposition from the Ennis Tennis and Badminton Club and now putting a large question mark on the project in its current form, the council state, “The construction of two four- and three-storey concrete apartment blocks in the front gar- den of this important 18th- or early 19th-century Georgian house will, if permitted, result in diminishing the importance, character and integ- rity of the Protected Structure due to

their bulk and height, design and use of unsympathetic materials.”

The council point out, “The pro- posed floor area will take up most of the front garden, which was origi- nally designed to provide a tranquil setting for the house.”

The council considers, “that the proposed development is too dense. The density comparisons made by you are not appropriate because the other sites, unlike the subject site, do not contain protected structures and as such do not incur the same con- straints.”

The council “considers that “Block A’ should be omitted and “Block B’ be relocated to the area previously

occupied by it. please submit your proposals to reduce density.”

It goes on, “The council has no ob- jection in principle to change of use of Waterville house provided that such a change of use would not re- quire significant interventions or ma- terial alterations which might affect the character or historic fabric of the Protected Structure.

“However, it appears that it 1s pro- posed to totally remove the historic interior of the Protected Structure and install concrete stairs and floors. Such a proposal would result in the loss of all items of architectural and historic interest and be totally inappropriate treatment for such a building.

“It appears that it is proposed to de- molish the stone coach houses, which have been a feature of the streetscape for centuries. By this simple design and use of natural, local materials, this structure makes a positive con- tribution to both the ACA and Pro- tected Structure.

“The refitting of this building for a residential use would not be a mat- ter of serious concern but its demol1- tion, together with its adjoining ash- lar gate-piers, appears inappropriate and would result in a serious loss of character and would materially contravene development plan policy in relation to the demolition in the ACA.”

IN 2005/06 Scariff Community College’s Home Economics Depart- ment with the help of Red Branch – an international health and lifestyle consultancy – set about trying to encourage a change of attitude to- wards healthy eating and a healthy Perea (er

A survey was carried out by Red Branch to determine lifestyle pat- terns of students and the four main issues addressed as a result of this Survey were:

To increase water consumption.

To increase fruit consumption.

To encourage the eating of a healthy lunch.

To increase physical activity for girls.

Initially the vending machines were removed from the school cor- ridors and instead bottled water was for sale from the school canteen at a reduced price.

To tackle the low levels of fruit consumption a school fruit micro- business was established. Through this initiative transition year students were responsible for sourcing, order- ing, promoting and selling organic fruit. A local supplier Blue Moon Farm is used and around 4,540 units of fruit are sold per term.

Lunches were the big problem. Foods high in saturated fats, sugar and additives were the mainstay of

lunches and all were easily available from local fast-food outlets. Meet- ings were held between Red Branch, teachers and the student council to solve this dilemma. After a period of trial and error we now have a system in place which suits everybody.

Pallas Foods supply a variety of fill- ings for sandwiches, rolls and wraps. All these have been evaluated for salt, sugar and fat content and only foods that are trans fat free are per- mitted for sale, along with organic soup, smoothies and orange juice.

A group called Teenage Lifestylers introduced hip hop dancing, tae kwon-do and yoga for girls who are not into contact sports. The dancing is a big hit and is a regular feature in

school variety shows and musicals.

‘A healthy mind in a healthy body’ philosophy is promoted in transition year with a trip to an outdoor edu- cation centre for a week’s activities in October, a programme of fitness training with power bags by Fitness Solutions from Ennis in November/ December and a personal develop- ment programme in March.

SR ETHEL Normoyle is trying to decide exactly how many beds will be provided in the medical ward of the new care centre and hospice built by the Irish.

“Tm thinking thirteen beds, be- cause I want families to be able to come and spend time with the pa- tients – we don’t want them on top of each other’, she says,

The thinking is typical of the ethos of Missionvale. “Only the best is good enough for the poor’, is a say- ing often on Ethel Normoyle’s lips.

The 9,000 square foot centre will help her to provide much more of the best. The best quality of care, the best quality of life and the best chance for many of the children who have nothing else.

One section will be used as a treat- ment room, where treatment will be holistic . Drug regimes will be drawn up but clients will also be giv- en space to tell the care givers and medical staff about other aspects of their lives and needs.

The wards are places where the very sick will be taken care of and while

many will find in them a place to end their lives in dignity, many more will be treated with retroviral medication and rehydration and go back to their families to fight another day.

The social worker and administra- tors who deal with a spaghetti junc- tion of red tape in securing state al- lowances and grants for the people of the township will have a space of their own to work in.

Another room will provide an edu- cation facility for people who are ill, to teach them how best to manage the HIV virus, to try to stay as well as possible and most importantly, the try to educate the township’s popula- tion in how they can prevent AIDS from claiming new victims.

Finally, there is one room which will constantly be filled with hap- piness. That is the room where pro- grammes for the orphans and vulner- able children will be held. That room will be where they will be taught, fed and valued. It will be constantly filled with song and laughter.

, as Fine Gael prepares to raise the issue of juve- nile offending in a private members motion in the Dail this (Tuesday)

evening.

Fine Gael is hitting out at the Gov- ernment’s record on the issue of un- derage offending and is calling for tough measures to be introduced.

It is calling for a comprehensive re- view on the availability of knives and to increase garda resources, in an ef- fort to tackle knife crime.

The party says it is concerned about the increase in incidents of anti-so- cial behaviour, the prevalence of al-

cohol and drug abuse and the prolif- eration of knife crime.

Fine Gael says the ongoing deterio- ration of law and order under Fianna Fail-led governments has created “fear and anxiety’ among the pub- liter

“A lot of the structures put in place over the past few years have to be rolled out,” said Cllr Carey.

“On the ground, I feel the system is very badly resourced. There isn’t

enough personnel involved,” he said.

He said that with hundreds of re- ferrals to the national juvenile office from Clare every year, additional gardai should be appointed to work with young offenders.

“We have two juvenile liaison of- ficers (JLOs) in Clare. This has in- creased from one a few years ago, but there is a huge volume of work for two people to be doing,” he said.

‘Restorative justice is the way for-

ward, but that initiative will be aspi- rational without resources,” he said.

“We (FG) want to see more com- munity policing in terms of juvenile justice,” he said.

He said that geographical areas most at risk must be identified and funding injected in those areas.

‘We need to invest in areas more at risk of problem behaviour and identi- fy the individuals at an earlier stage,” he said.

NEW facilities which will help pro- mote the increasingly popular farm- er’s market in Killaloe are being sought.

Local councillor, Tony O’Brien is to ask Clare County Council to cost the provision of facilities such as electricity, running water, signage and road markings for the site of Kil- laloe Farmers Market.

The call will go out to the council’s Director of Services at a meeting of the Killaloe area representatives of the council today.

“The market has become a very popular feature in Killaloe each

Sunday and I have met with some of the traders about their concerns and ways in which the market could be supported and improved,’ Cllr O’Brien said.

He added that those stalls which require power, such as hot food ven- dors and stalls which need chill ca- pacity for fresh food, are currently using generators.

“A power supply would be a big help to the traders and would help create a more pleasant atmosphere at the weekly event,” he said.

Farmers markets are becoming well supported countrywide as peo- ple become more aware of where their food comes from and buying

locally sourced and produced food gains in popularity.

“This is in line with Minister John Gormley’s recent statement about supporting local markets,” said Cllr O’Brien.

He added that he is “not asking the county council to pay for these facilities. just to cost them. Once we know what is involved, then we can look at what finances are available and maybe do some sort of scheme which involves input from the mar- kets vendors and whatever funding 1s available.”

The move to improve conditions for the market comes as Clare County Council finalises details of its desig-

nated casual trading areas.

The new by-laws on casual trad- ing will control where stall holders can set up and the area between the waters has been designated as one of these areas.

Meanwhile, Cllr O’Brien will also be chasing the local authority to check the water supply system in Killaloe to ensure there will be no further loss of supply like the one which affected homes in the town last week.

A leaking main was responsible, dumping 40,000 gallons a day into the ground.

“We can’t have this happening in the long term,” said Cllr O’Brien.

THE biggest thing about the tiny baby boy is his eyes. They stare in alarm out of a face that is sunken and a body that is covered in the open sores which are the tell-tale sign of infection with the HIV virus.

He is nine months old, but to lift him up is to discover that he weights little more than a large teddy-bear.

His mother looks almost as sick as he does and there is no alarm in her eyes, only defeat.

Sr Ethel wants to introduce the pair, who have come for help to the Mis- sionvale clinic, to a volunteer.

When the young mother leaves Ethel confides that her little boy will probably not live to see his first birthday.

“We have to work very closely with her now. She is close to giving up. She’s saying ‘what’s the point?’ It’s when people go that far down that they slip away”, says Ethel. “This is the face of AIDS in Africa.’’, she SEAS

Hope is a very valuable commodity at Missionvale, particularly for the children who come every day to be fed as part of the Orphans and Vul- nerable Children programme.

Around 3pm, they arrive and sit in lines on the grass of the school playground. There are 500 or more children involved. They sing togeth- er and then sit quietly with hands outstretched for a sandwich and the

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The older children help marshall the younger ones into lines and they carry the crates of sandwiches for distribution.

These are the children who have had their childhood snatched from them by being made heads of house- holds often before they are ten years old. The AIDS virus has taken their parents and caregivers. Look into their eyes and you will see adults looking back.

Parents don’t have to be dead for a child to be an orphan in the town- ship. Many have parents who are too ill to provide care for them. Many more belong to families who have been defeated by poverty, hunger, disease or alcoholism.

Sr Ethel feeds these children and also supports the older children who have been cast into the parenting role to ensure they can continue going to school, getting an education which will provide them with wings to fly the grinding poverty trap.

Her investment in the future of the youngsters is already paying off.

Many who came to her when her only facility was the shade of a tree are now working as care-giv- ers, teachers and clerical staff at the centre and many more have fulfilled their contract with Missionvale and have gone out into their brave new Ke) u lem