‘Young people were left with a void in their lives, which we tried to fill’

Zita McNaugher, president of the Young Farmers’ Clubs of Ulster (YFCU), is justifiably proud of the “adaptability and creativity” of YFCU members during this exceptionally challenging year, and of their dedication to support rural communities across Northern Ireland.

“When I was elected as YFCU President in April 2019 I never believed that my two-year term would be unlike any other president’s term before me,” said Zita. “The Covid 19 pandemic has resulted in a lot of missed opportunities for the YFCU and for me personally.

“I have not had the chance to speak at our coveted YFCU Arts Festival Gala, we have had to postpone our 90th Anniversary Dinner and we have had to postpone face to face meetings and competitions. Not to mention missing out on all Balmoral Show 2020 activities, a Rural Youth Europe Rally to Slovenia and a trip to Buckingham Palace.”

While, Zita, 29, describes 2020 as “a bit disappointing”, she adds it has also created some very unique opportunities, for which she is “extremely thankful”.

“I am the first YFCU president to host an AGM from their living room which was a bit of a random experience, followed by a socially distant presidential team photo shoot with the newly elected presidential team.

“At our virtual AGM I announced the theme of ‘R.O.A.R.I.N.G Twenties’ which stands for Recruitment, Opportunities, Attendance, Retention, Inclusion, Neighbours and Giving. I believe by focusing on these seven core areas, we will bounce back stronger than before.”

The YFCU is a rural youth organisation open to rural dwellers aged 11 to 30. Surprisingly you do not have to be a farmer to be a YFCU member!

It offers a range of competitions and activities for young people to learn new skills and meet new people.

“We do have a reputation of being a matchmaking agency and although I found my husband through the YFCU, we cannot guarantee that for every member!,” joked Zita.

“The competitions we offer range from public speaking, football, drama, photography, fencing (of the stock-proof kind!), swimming, tractor handling and stock judging to name but a few.”

Zita, who now lives in Aghadowey, started as a member of Moneymore YFC at the age of 14 after her cousin had invited her along to the first meeting of the new winter programme.

“Clearly the ice breaker evening made an impact on me and I threw myself into all things YFC,” she said.

When Covid 19 hit in March the YFCU community pulled together to deliver PPE, donate to food banks and pick up prescriptions and supplies for those who found themselves shielding or isolating.

“The willingness to help out in the community by members never ceases to amaze and surprise me and I am extremely proud of all those members involved in helping out their local communities during the pandemic, but also very proud of all those members who are key essential workers.

“Our work in the community was funded by Power NI and led to 10 clubs receiving small grants to increase their donations to food banks and PPE purchases.”

Members also volunteered for the ‘Across the Hedgerows’ programme, a new initiative between the YFCU and Rural Support.

“Rural Support were experiencing a high volume of calls due to worries about health, finance and isolation during lockdown and they approached us for some volunteers. Again, members were more than willing to step up and be a listening and friendly ear for people feeling isolated.”

Zita said the sudden stop in YFCU activities left a “void” in members’ lives which was soon filled with virtual competitions.

“From painting rainbows, toilet roll challenges and even an environmental competition, members embraced the new virtual platform and as per usual, competition was fierce.”

Personally, Zita said “the silver lining of lockdown” was they had time to develop their mental health campaign ‘YF Sees You’ and establish a mental health sub-committee.

“This year has taught me many things, but in particular it has taught me not to take anything for granted. In 2019 I turned down some YFCU related events and activities thinking I could do them next year, well look how that turned out! 2020 has also taught me to be grateful for all those opportunities that I have got to experience and I don’t think I’ll ever complain about the amount of mileage I do in a week again!”