Catholic Early Learning and Care (CELC), Media Release, 4 November 2024

Catholic Early Learning and Care (CELC) Director Alison Forster commended the children at St Joseph’s Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) for their compassion and thoughtfulness in sending homemade gifts and heartfelt messages to support a young international visitor injured in a rock-throwing incident while riding the Kuranda Scenic Rail in Cairns.

Under the guidance of OSHC supervisor Sandra Casey, some 90 students attending St Joseph’s after-school care program created two of their signature Mercy Bears and a signed card in a gesture of get-well-goodwill.

After receiving treatment in Townsville, Far North police officers, including a Cross-Cultural Senior Police Liaison Officer and detectives from Queensland Police Service’s (QPS) Cairns Child Protection and Investigation Unit, visited the injured boy and his family, presenting the gifts donated by the St Joseph’s OSHC students. The young boy has since returned to Japan with his family. 

According to Mrs Casey, this caring gesture occurred after a conversation with students following the rock-throwing incident. The children wondered what they could do to show their care for the injured boy before deciding to make and present one of St Joseph’s OSHC Mercy Bears. Each year, the St Joey’s OSHC students make bears to deliver a warm hug to families in need at Christmas.

“This was a lovely project to oversee, and when the children discovered the young boy had a twin, they duplicated their efforts and made not one but two Mercy Bears, which was delivered along with the card,” Mrs Casey said.

St. Joey’s OSHC students are now working towards their next goal, entitled “An Act of Kindness,” which is making 80 Mercy Bears for Christmas that will be presented to the Queensland Police Service for their safe rooms. These cuddly creations will be given to QPS at St Joseph’s end-of-year Christmas concert at Lennon Hall, St Augustine’s College, on Wednesday, 4 December 2024.