Eric cares for his mum who lives with a number of health conditions, which can include needing both of her legs in casts, thus limiting her mobility.
Caring for this mum can be tiring. His days are pretty packed with school life and caring duties. After walking to and from school, which is a good 40 minutes each way, Eric returns home to help around the house. This can include, but is not limited to, helping with dinner, laundry, cleaning and gardening, running errands and picking up the groceries. With his mum in a wheelchair, he also takes on the role of steerer, as well as fetcher, bringing her what she needs when she is unable to do so herself.
Even with his days packed with responsibilities, Eric is still able to put in 100% effort into school, resulting in excellent grades. While there might not be much time left in the day for anything else, when there is, Eric hopes to find an activity just for himself outside of school that will let him spend more time with others his age.
Eric tells us the Young Carer Scholarship Program gives him the opportunity to pursue photography, which we reckon is a great activity to select! Photography is the beauty of life captured and can be an activity he can do at any time and in any place. Who knows? With such drive and determination shown by Eric, maybe the next time we see Eric, he’ll be snapping away at one of our Young Carer Scholarship award ceremonies!
Help others understand the real impact of care for unpaid carers. Whether you’re a primary, secondary, former or young carer, your story matters - and we want to hear it!
