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Southern Regional Winner

The D'Lima family from Whetstone, London

Jack D'Lima was a remarkable little boy. With a winning smile and witty quips, his parents, Beverley and Albert, describe him as the kind of 'cheeky chappy' you couldn't help but love. Jack loved nothing more than having a kick about with his brothers, Tom, and Charlie in the back garden.

Anyone watching them would never have realised the little boy was battling a brain tumour, discovered when he was just 15 months old.

"Jack was one of life's fighters," says Beverley, 39. "He took strength from being with those he loved."

As Jack's illness worsened, both Beverley and Albert, 43, gave up their jobs to care for their son and Tom, now 15, and Charlie, 9, spent every moment they could at his side.

"They'd wait on him, feed him and never tire of trying to cheer him up. When he was too ill to move, they'd play football with him on the couch, and when he was too poorly to do that they'd hold him and chat for hours on end," says Beverley.

Sadly, following a nine-year battle with cancer, Jack passed away just after his tenth birthday in March 2005. Afterwards, Beverley arranged counselling sessions with The Grief Encounter Project for her boys.

"While Charlie, who was only six at the time, wanted to talk about Jack, I could see Tom, who was 12, holding back," says Beverley.

"He co-ordinated the funeral service, cleared Jack's belongings, took on chores, but inside he was consumed by grief. Seeing his counsellor Shelley really helped him deal with his feelings and thoughts."

Adds Tom, "After we lost Jack I felt as though nobody could ever understand how I was feeling. I felt lonely and confused but I didn't want to talk about my feelings in case I upset people. On the first visit to Grief Encounter I felt a bit awkward but it soon became something I looked forward to. Finding out someone understood me made everything much easier."

Tom began writing and giving speeches at fundraising events for Grief Encounter. He has written for their website and he and Charlie have taken part in workshops to improve the lives of other bereaved families.

As for Beverley and Albert, in January 2006, they set up a charity called Jack's Goal - to raise funds for research into discovering the causes, advancing the treatments and finding a cure for childhood brain tumours. Through bingo nights, sponsored dinner parties, a gift sale (by Tom), a sponsored walk (by Charlie) and publishing a recipe book they have raised over £36,000.

"Our work for Jack's Goal and The Grief Encounter Project has been our therapy," says Beverley. "It is lovely to think we might spare another family the agony of losing a child along the way."