Handcrafted bench placed in fitting tribute

A BENCH handcrafted by people taking part in a construction taster course has been placed in the heart of a Felinfoel community in memory of one of their closest friends.

A group of people from the Llundain Fach and Danybanc areas of Felinfoel were among those taking part in a Building Your Own Future in Sir Gar course, which offers people six weeks of tasters in the building trade.

Each course offers participants the chance to hand make a picnic table and bench set as part of the carpentry session, but a course recently hosted by Felinfoel  Communities First saw the group making an extra special effort when they began making the bench in memory of their friend Gavin Evans, who died last year at the age of 24.

The bench set has now been placed in a park in the Llundain Fach estate in a fitting tribute to Gavin, who loved to socialize with friends and neighbours in the area.

His parents Nigel and Tania Evans, and his sister Ashleeann, were amongst friends and family when the bench was unveiled to the community this week.

His mum said: “We were very touched when we heard they were making a bench set in his memory. It is a lovely thought, and we would like to thank those that made it.”

Building Your Own Future in Sir Gar is a partnership project run by Carmarthenshire County Council, Communities First, Coleg Sir Gar and the Carmarthenshire Construction Training Association Ltd.

It is funded by the Swansea Bay Deprived Area Fund (DAF), and has been running in Communities First areas of Carmarthenshire since October.

It offers groups of people the chance to learn basic skills in construction, covering carpentry, tiling, plumbing and plastering, within their own communities, in the hope that it will encourage them to think about further education, training or employment.

The project has been hugely successful, with many of those that have taken part enrolling on college courses or other training in their communities.

Funding has just been secured to roll the project out in to the Burry Port and Trimsaran areas, and the project team is searching for grants to run the course in other parts of Carmarthenshire in the near future.

Project coordinator, Emma Sadler, said: “We’ve been overwhelmed with the response of people who have taken part in the course, and the success the course has had in terms of giving people more confidence to try new things and better themselves.

“Every group has enjoyed making the bench sets as part of the carpentry sessions, and these have been donated to local schools, parks and communities by each group, but this group in Felinfoel wanted to place it in their local park in memory of a friend, and we thought this was a fitting tribute.”

To find out more about Building Your Own Future in Sir Gar, find the project on Facebook, or call 01554 748630.

PIC: Friends and family of Gavin Evans pictured with the picnic bench they have placed in his memory, which was made by participants of the Building Your Own Future in Sir Gar project. Pic Jeff Connell