The Australian Ireland Fund : Projects Supported 2006/2007

During the financial year 2006/2007 The Australian Ireland Fund pledged a total of $520,500 to the following projects:

• Rowallane Integrated College grew out of a desire by parents in South Belfast to have their children educated in an integrated secondary school.  It began in June 2004 when a group  of parents from Millennium and Cedar Integrated Primary Schools met with officers from the  Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE) to discuss the development of second level integrated provision to service their area. 
  
  From those discussions and determination, Rowallane Integrated College opened its doors in September 2006 with 39 pupils.  It is operating independently out of a temporary location in Belvoir Park Hospital.  All costs incurred with running the school and paying teacher salaries must be fundraised  from private donors.
  
  All the staff at Rowallane left permanent and pensionable jobs to start work at a school that they are completely committed to and passionate about but whose future is not entirely certain. The school receives no government funding at this time.  $200,000 has been pledged by the Sir Warwick Fairfax Trust and the Australian Ireland Fund to Rowallane.  more on Rowallane >
  
  
• YouthAction Northern Ireland is a leading voluntary youth development agency, working with disadvantaged young people to enable them to be active and equal citizens whose voices are heard, respected and valued.  It engages with 2,500 young people each year in developmental work and has a membership of 156 further affiliated youth groups.  The grant of $75,000 in 2007 was to assist YouthAction to build a dynamic new youth facility in a neutral location in Belfast City Centre to provide a range of opportunities for young people at risk of social exclusion.  The Australian Ireland Fund will be recognised through the naming of one of their training rooms.  
  more on YouthAction >
  
  
• WAVE headed up by Hugo McNeill is a cross-community voluntary organization and offers care and support to anyone bereaved or traumatized through the ‘Troubles’ of Northern Ireland.  Since its establishment in 1991, WAVE has offered direct support to over 3,500 individuals, a cross section of adults, young people and children with over 2,100 people currently engaged in support provision.  We agreed to support with activity with $25,000 this grant round.
   more on WAVE >
  
  
• Soundhouse is an Australian initiative with two Soundhouse Outreach kits having been placed in The Nerve Centre in Derry in Northern Ireland and one in the 174 Trust in Belfast.  The Outreach Kit is a Plug and Play Soundhouse in a box.   There are now 8 Soundhouse Kits and Special Access Kits in 8 locations in Northern Ireland now.   Initially, the kit was created for those too geographically removed to visit a Soundhouse, or for whom travel can be difficult or expensive.  The Kit allows people to compose, create and communicate using contemporary technology, however isolated they may be.  $34,000 was donated to this project in this grant round.
   more on SoundHouse >
  
  
• Tara Counselling and Personal Development Centre, Omagh, was founded in 1996 in response to a request from the local Health and Social Service Board to provide a counseling/ psychotherapy service, in the voluntary sector, for those in dire need of psychological and emotional assistance in order to deal with the trauma of ‘the Troubles’. In the aftermath of the Omagh bomb 1998, the services provided by Tara, the only professional provider of such services in Omagh at the time, proved to be invaluable.  Tara was granted a further $25,000 in this grant round to help complete the extension and refurbishment of the building.  more on Tara >
  
  
• The Speedwell Trust since 1991 has been bringing together Catholic and Protestant children, schools and their communities to develop mutual respect and understanding.  They work through the medium of Environmental Education, learning to respect each other and the world we share.   Speedwell is based in Mid-Ulster, in a region known as Murder Triangle and cares for children from communities which are bitterly divided by sectarian violence and distrust.   At Speedwell, these children are given the opportunity to work together and develop friendships. $30,000 was donated to this project in this grant round.   more on Speedwell >
  
  
• The 174 Trust was established in 1982, and the property 174/176 Antrim Road purchased which became the focus of a work dedicated to tackling many of the problems confronting the local community and addressing the real needs of those living in a materially and socially disadvantaged area.  Past grants have enabled the repair and refurbishment of the main activities hall, now named Australia Hall. The Australian Ireland Fund has again supported 174 Trust with a further grant of $50,000 in this grant round.  more on 174 Trust >
  
  
• The Rock Challenge is a drug and crime prevention vehicle in the form of a performing arts competition for secondary schools.  The focus on this friendly and vibrant competition is on young people leading healthy lifestyles and being their best without the need for tobacco alcohol or other drugs.  The Rock Challenge is an effective means through which agencies having an interest in community safety and wellbeing can fulfill their responsibilities. The event was established in the UK in 1996, and at that time involved 11 schools with 800 participants in Portsmouth.  It has grown to the extent that in 2007, 17,000 students from 245 teams took part in 36 events throughout England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. A grant of $25,000 was pledged in this grant round.
  
  
• Northern Ireland Children’s Enterprise (NICE) - which assists young people, parents and families, Catholics and Protestants, in strife-torn areas of Belfast by providing a place where those young people can meet to reconcile their often violent situations.  In recognition of our support, NICE has named its facility in Belfast “Australia House”.
  
  NICE continues to provide a very important first point of contact for many young Catholics and Protestants.  Recent statistics showed that seventy nine percent of the young people with   whom NICE works had never met a Catholic or Protestant before doing so through NICE.  It is important that their work in reconciliation continues to grow, so that intimidation and sectarianism are not experienced by future generations of people in Northern Ireland.  NICE received $50,000 in 2007 in further support of their ‘Living with Diversity Programme’.  more on NICE >

Donor Designated Grants:

• Rock Challenge: $5,000 was donated from Lansdowne Club
• Royal College of Surgeons Ireland: $1,500 was donated from Dr. Marie Norton-Willson