Derry girl to star in BBC Children in Need’s ‘Surprise Squad’

The 16 year old Thornhill girl had a stroke two years ago and has come a long way in her recovery. She has received help and support from Brain Injury Matters(BIM), an organisation that supports people with brain injuries and their families. Roisin feels her confidence and capabilities have massively improved since she started with BIM and she is delighted to be able to take part in Children in Need and give back to the charity.

She said, “It’s so exciting, I can’t even explain it. I never thought I would be doing something like this. Right now we’re doing a challenge to build a garden - we’re planting things and digging and all that. We only started today so we haven’t had a full day’s work yet but I’d say it will be tiring.

“I hate the sound of my own voice and I’ve heard from a lot of other people that they do too so I’m a bit anxious about it airing on TV but I’ll be so proud of myself when it’s on. I think people from Brain Injury Matters will be so proud of me too. They set up a Youth Steering Group and I’m the treasurer of that group. We are able to pick an activity that we want to do, like last month we went to We Are Vertigo and that was really fun.

It’s really nice being on the Surprise Squad because my friends here understand what I’ve been through as they’ve all been through similar experiences. People my age at home don’t really talk about strokes but everyone here is really open about it.

“I’m doing this because I want to give back for all the help and support that I received through their funding and also just to have some fun.”

The Surprise Squad is a new Children in Need fundraising challenge were five inspirational young people visit Children in Need funded projects that are in need of some help. These include a garden for a childrens hospice and a community fundraising event. It will be on BBC’s The One Show the week starting Monday, November 15 to Thursday, November 18.