TEENAGER’S MEMORY PERPETUATED 20-YEARS ON

A memorial fund to a Llanelli teenager who tragically died 20-years ago has provided a playhouse for a children’s centre in Morfa.
A total of £2,000 has been donated from the Sian Emmanuel Fund for the playhouse. The fund in February this year donated an additional £10,000 to Maes y Morfa School.
Sian was a pupil at the school and resident of the Morfa community before her untimely death on July 3, 1995.
Sian’s Mum Jeannette Hopkins cut the ribbon opening the playhouse in her daughter’s memory.
She said: “I feel so proud that the fund which has accumulated over the years thanks to the stalwart efforts of family and friends is starting to return to the community in positive ways to help perpetuate Sian’s memory.”
The £2,000 donation has been used to create a wooden outdoor playhouse with toys and children’s furniture. At a ribbon cutting and plaque unveiling ceremony the bright new play facility was named the ‘Sian Emmanuel Play House.’
Integrated children centres strategic manager at Morfa, Felinfoel and Llwynhendy Estelle Etheridge-Lawrence said: “Sian’s playhouse will encourage children’s imagination and development along with providing the children with a quiet area where they can identify with the adult world.
“It will be a place where children can relax, unwind and have fun enabling them to develop healthy connections and choices in life.”
Executive Board Member for Children’s Services Cllr Gareth Jones expressed the value and importance of such donations especially benefitting children of the community. He also unveiled a plaque to Sian’s memory at the centre with Mrs Hopkins.