Nurse lisa kirwan from kinnegad to volunteer in china

In January, Kinnegad native Lisa Kirwan will be travelling to the Changsha region of China for seven weeks to volunteer as a nurse in the Butterfly Children’s Hospice.

The 23-year-old will be looking after children with life-threatening or life-limiting illnesses. Sadly, many such children do not have family or relatives to support them during their time of need.

“It’s always been a lifelong ambition of mine to volunteer and it will be a chance for me to gain experience of children’s palliative care,”says Lisa who studied children’s and general nursing at Trinity College Dublin and is currently an intern at Tallaght Hospital, finishing her training in December.

The children that come to the Butterfly Orphanage are either referred from other orphanages or are abandoned by their parents.
“It’s about providing comfort and end-of-life care. The hospice has around 30 beds and the oldest that comes in are aged around five, down to premature babies – and one or two teenagers occasionally.

“Butterfly Hospice are also trying to change the culture in China because parents believe that it’s a curse to take care of a child that is dying. Also a lot of parents don’t have the money to offer their child the healthcare they need, so the children are abandoned. So it’s up to the volunteer carers and nurses to provide that care.”

- Lisa is looking for medical supplies, baby clothing and baby formula to bring with her to China. For more information you can contact her at kirwanli@tcd.ie or to donate visit virginmoneygiving.com/LisaKirwan

- To read more on her trip read the full article on page 4 of this week's Westmeath Examiner.