A MEMORIAL ceremony is due to be held today at Grainville School in honour of a teenager who took her own life in 2022.
Elizabeth Emily Borman will be remembered this afternoon at 2.45pm at the St Saviour school with the showing of a film about her life and the painting of a memorial bench outside the main reception.
Non-alcoholic refreshments and cakes will be provided, and all Islanders are welcome to attend.
Elizabeth’s mother, Natalia Borman, said it would be “a very important day” for her and her family, including Elizabeth’s older siblings.
She said it had been difficult to plan the bench-painting around the stormy weather but hoped it could go ahead after some extra preparations were made last night to keep it dry.
She said: “The bench is a bit sad at the moment, but now it has been moved inside the porch, and flowers and bushes have been planted nearby.
“Elizabeth loved butterflies, so these will attract them. And we hope it can be a cheer-up bench for children to sit and share things.”
Ms Borman said there were further plans to plant a tree in memory of her daughter.
Elizabeth was born in Jersey but moved to Guernsey as a young child. She attended primary school there before being awarded a place at Guernsey Grammar School at the age of 11.
The teenager attended the grammar school for three years before moving back to Jersey in summer 2021 ahead of her GCSE studies at Grainville.
She died aged 15 in Jersey in May 2022 following a period of mental-health struggles.
Last May, Ms Borman organised “Walks of Hope” in both Jersey and Guernsey to mark one year since her daughter’s “tragic” death and raise awareness of growing mental-health issues in young people. A playlist of Elizabeth’s favourite songs was put together ahead of these walks.
Ms Borman has also announced her intention to form a charity – “Hope for Veta” – in honour of Elizabeth, who was nicknamed Veta.
She said the charity would aim to provide mental-health support to families with children aged 8 to 18, and promote sports in children and teenagers up to 18 years old. She is planning to set up a JustGiving page for donations.
The charity would also work with Youthful Minds, a youth participation group with mental-health charity Mind Jersey which could promote counselling for children and parents.
She said: “Seeking advice from these professionals could mean that what happened to our daughter could be avoided for others.”
