The memory of a storyteller, campaigner and researcher who dedicated her life to child refugees will live on in a new prize. 

PhD student Rima Cherri died last year aged 34 after being diagnosed with stage 4 triple-negative metastatic cancer.

But her ability to give voice to the voiceless will continue at the University of Essex. 

Next term, the university is introducing the Rima Cherri Prize in Refuge Care with £1,000 awarded to the best dissertation written by a Refugee Care master's student. 

Rima travelled the world helping vulnerable children and later launched the charity U-Turn Lives, which aims to make a meaningful and long-lasting difference in the lives of vulnerable children so they contribute to making a positive change in their communities. 

Gazette:

She believed the world needed to do more to support vulnerable children and her doctoral research was the culmination of her experience in refugee camps and how children born and raised in camps imagine the outside world. 

She once said: "Children don't know lies or even wars. They don't choose to be poor, nor to sleep hungry and walk bare feet. They don't choose to work while others go to school. If they are to choose, they would probably choose to be able to be children, to play, dream and learn."

Rima's sister, Rayan Cherri said: "Love and light are what we remember Rima by. She was a genuine lover.

Gazette:

"She loved deeply and passionately and admired the simplest things in life.

"Her short life was rich with achievements that we all take eternal pride in, and thus we shall continue to reflect some of her light back at those who need it."

"We will continue her legacy. This prize is but one modest testament.

"Love and light to all those remembering Rima."

Gazette:

University staff remember her fondly with lecturer Dr Zibiah Loakthar praising her passion. 

Dr Loakthar said: "In our Refuge Care community, we remember Rima as a resilient, innovative and mindful advocate."

Her family and friends hope that whoever receives Rima's annual prize carries with them her compassion for vulnerable children and her belief that life is, after all, a journey awaiting meaning.