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Gaelscoil An Lonnain
Unlike adults beginning studies of the Irish language
and culture, little ones are immersed from the start
and know only the pride and confidence that living
their heritage can bring. It’s a rich commencement.
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Stadium Youth & Community
Projects
"
This is the only time that my wife and I have been
somewhere with our son that wasn't a courthouse." — A
participant's father
Among many Stadium programs seeking to bring a more peaceful life to the people
of Belfast is the Higher Force Challenge, which aims to give at-risk youth the
tools they need to contribute positively to community life.
Take Steven Barr and Shughie Sinclair, who came through the program in 1993.
Both had dropped out of school at 15 and faced a desolate future. Yet both experienced
a major turnaround as a result of Higher Force. Steven earned a diploma in Youth
and Community Work and after years as a senior instructor at Higher Force, he
took a job last year as Project Manager of another youth and community project.
Shughie, who studied physical training and skills development, is now a senior
instructor with Higher Force and a football coach.
“ These two lads have remained within the community as powerful and
positive examples... Paramilitary involvement, sectarianism, drug and alcohol
abuse are part of their
history, but not a part of their present circumstances or of their future plans,” says
Pastor Jack McKee, founder.
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Belfast Travellers Support Group
“
All the women have found peace within themselves
because they’re starting to realize a lot of abilities
that they possess, and those abilities are being recognized
and cultivated,” —
Veronica McEneaney, Community Development Worker.
It’s believed that, along with an emigration that
might better be termed an exodus, the Irish
famine produced a subculture known as the Travellers,
families that went from place to place
seeking work and selling their wares. Over the years,
economic changes meant that their
services were needed less and less. Today, they struggle.
They’re poorly educated, their living
conditions are difficult, they’re underemployed,
their needs are great.
But they’re resilient. Optimistic. With government
assistance and the help of private
funding sources, they’re a proud and determined
people intent on creating a better life.
In this support group, 12 women are learning to read
and write, but they’re also reviving
pride in their culture and coming to understand their
own potential.
This poem, by group member Kathleen Delaney, expresses
what the beach brings to mind — and how it makes
her feel.
Ice cream van,
Waves surfing,
Children playing,
Music playing,
Fun,
Dog barking,
People talking,
People walking,
Laughing,
Birds singing,
B.B.Q. sizzling.
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Inclusion Matters: A PHAB Charity
Mark has flaming red hair, dresses like most kids, and
makes his way around in a wheelchair — his Super-Duper
Fancy Cruiser. The only real difference between him
and the students he speaks to is that Mark is a puppet.
One of the Kids on the Block, he and Melody, a puppet
who has no disability, travel from school to school
(along with their puppeteers Joanne and Judith) to
teach children just how capable people with disabilities
are.
Rainer Pagel, director of Inclusion Matters, says the
show works well with adults, too.
During a recent training, a youth worker who had gotten
caught up in the moment realized
how absorbed he was:
“ We’re talking to a flipping puppet! ”
The show fosters knowledge and understanding by answering
the basic, innocent questions that children have about
people with disabilities. “The impact the
show has is unbelievable,” Pagel says.
Kids on the Block is just one of several initiatives
designed to bridge the divide between people
with disabilities and those without. Others emphasize
inclusion between groups that have been
segregated due to sectarian or social issues.
more >>
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Springhill Community House
To reverse generations of social and economic struggle.
Tackle apathy and frustration. Defuse anger and violence.
Promote social inclusion. Help Belfast residents to help
themselves.
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An Club Eachtra
In impoverished West Belfast, An Club Eachtra is an Irish-language
community group that’s reviving the community
through youth support, leisure activities, education,
and small-business development. An Club Eachtra was
established in 1990.
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Women’s Information Group
The women of Belfast often felt powerless, despondent
over the violence overtaking the city
and worried about their children’s future. They
wouldn’t venture out of their neighborhoods, or
into those of “the other side.” These Protestant
and Catholic women had no idea how much they
had in common until they started meeting through the
Women’s Information Group.
At Information Days, they meet in either a Catholic or
a Protestant location to learn about
domestic violence, pride in one’s culture, poverty,
education — any topic they want. That’s the
point: to discuss subjects that matter to them while
building cross-community connections.
They also attend courses in personal development, negotiation
skills, conflict management, and
community health workers’ training, among others.
Two star participants, Aggie Volke, a
Protestant, and Ann Shepard, a Catholic, were trained
in the community health workers’program
and now work as a team, volunteering with the organization.
They bring healthcare
information to women “in the social settings
of their lives,” says chairperson Kate Kelly. That
means in playgroups, at the school gate, at the hairdresser’s,
and so forth.
“
We believe that information is best given when
people need it, where they feel comfortable, and in a
language
they understand,” she adds. Kelly offers
a simple, exuberant answer when asked what gives her
hope: “Women!” She
has witnessed their confidence and their understanding
of themselves increasing.
“ They’re a very buoyant group of people. At our
meetings, you get a sense of their vitality, their intelligence.”
more >>
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Vine Centre
Director Lynda Gibson describes the Vine as “a
continuum from the womb to the grave.”
With services for the young and old, the organization
helps people emerge from crisis, develop skills, become
more confident, and contribute to the well-being of the
community through tolerance and reconciliation.
Mervyn Gibson, Secretary, tells of nine-year-old George
who had been written off by the educational system. Admittedly,
this was after George had vandalized a classroom and
damaged some teachers’ cars. He attended the Vine’s
Homework Club, where he found acceptance, and where his
imagination and budding talents were embraced. He joined
a photography project in which he and others recorded
their view of the community; the photos were exhibited
at several Belfast locations.
“George discovered an outlet for his creative
talents and received recognition for his effort, where
previously
there had been ill-informed judgment and condemnation,” Gibson
says.
As many others have observed, he notes that sectarianism
has in fact increased since
The Good Friday Agreement.
“ This part of the journey by and large remains
aspirational and will do so until many more individuals
within the
community tread the path of toleration and forgiveness.”
The Vine works with individuals to strive for those very
things.
more >>
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Inter Community Development Project
Aftershocks of violence still shake North Belfast, where
a full one-quarter of the deaths related to the Troubles
occurred. The communities on both sides of the peace-line
need healing. And want it.
Intercomm is one dedicated response. Programs to help
young people leave violence behind. Small-business development.
Housing refurbishment. Peace-building. Negotiating the
end to conflicts between paramilitary groups. Providing
a forum for discussion, and a vision of what North Belfast
can become.
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Hands that Talk
Pauline is a film and television editor, the only deaf
editor in Northern Ireland. She works
at Hands that Talk Productions, the agency’s media
group that’s attempting to fill a conspicuous
void by producing stories about deaf people. She’s
happy, sociable.
This is how we find Pauline now. She’s a changed
woman.
For over 20 years, Pauline worked in a chicken factory.
She couldn’t communicate with her co-workers, and
no effort was made to communicate with her. Then she
found Hands that Talk, where she learned sign language
and became a tutor, before turning to editing.
The agency takes a holistic view of participants’ lives
and offers educational, social, and recreational services
to enhance them: Irish and British sign language courses;
crafts and woodworking; darts, cards, and with the recent
donation of a table, snooker.
And along with integrating Catholics and Protestants,
the agency also brings together deaf
and hearing people.
“ By teaching sign language to hearing people,
we help the deaf become less isolated,” says Chairperson
Dorothy Hegarty. |
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