Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year

Part of the Christmas Mural painted on the windows of the Eglinton Hotel by Huda Sabah Jafer

Christmas Day in the Eglinton

Christmas Day 2006 was a big festive day in the Eglinton Calendar.
Yet it was strangely quiet as many resident families went to Christian religious services, visited friends in Galway for a special dinner or stayed for a few days away from the Eglinton in places such as Dublin.
But no matter what happens, staff such as Michel (photo on the right) have to continue working as normal be it at reception, in the kitchen or on the dining room floor. So we give a big thank you to all of them for their support in 2006.

Eglinton Residents Nominated for Galway City 'Mayoral Award'!

Huda, Adil, and their children Lina and Mohammed with DERI Chief Executive Officer, Michael Turley, at the DERI Awards ceremony in Galway University, July 2006

Adil Jaber and Huda Jafer have been jointly nominated for the annual Galway City Mayoral Awards. These prestigious honours are awarded to those people whose voluntary activities are deemed as making a valuable contribution to improving the quality of lives of their communities.
According to Brendan Smith, the present holder of the Mayoral Award in the Social and Community category, "It was recognised that many residents of the Eglinton Hotel in 2006 devoted considerable time and valuable expertise in providing a series of in-house courses and resources. People such as Joy, Dmitriy, Joy Obeto, Natalia, Zoran and Ljiljana spring to mind. But it was felt that Adil and Huda have consistently stood out like beams of light for their unselfish and constant actions on behalf of the city's asylum seeker community. They edited the Online Eglinton Community Newsletters, organised art & computer classes for different age groups and formed the backbone of the many family events such as Halloween and Christmas parties held during the course of the year. Their unflinching devotion and never-ending volunteerism on behalf of the Eglinton residents was and is a fine example for all Galwegians to follow. Their efforts and demeanour has put a smile on the faces of so many of us during the last year."

Adil, Huda and their two children- Lina and Mohammed- were recently granted Irish residency status and have moved out of the Eglinton Hotel. They will be sadly missed. But we wished them well as they make a new begining in Dublin with Adil and Huda both expecting to continue their professional lives as dentists once they complete their university studies.

Nominations also for our friendly Nurses!
The Public Health Nurses and the Health Promotions staff of the Health Board Executive were also nominated for the Mayoral Awards. For it was recognised that individuals such as Maeve Geraghty, Helena Heagney, Adrienne Lynam and Breege Nichol have regularly and without complaint gone over and above the call of duty to help make life easier in Ireland for asylum seekers.

Galway Mayor's Santa Visit was the 'Icing on the Cake' at Eglinton's Christmas Party!

Just before Christmas, an exciting fun-packed party was held in the Eglinton Asylum Seekers Hotel organised by the hard-working residents' support committee. There were hundreds of gift- wrapped presents for all our young people (from the newly born to the older teenagers); lashings of food and drink; colourful wall/ceiling decorations; seasonal music playing in all the public rooms; a films show; the performing antics of the Snow Queen (Karen Winner) and her troupe of gorgeous female fairies; a Christmas Tree at reception decorated by the children under the supervision of Huda Sabah; a children's choir; and a foot-stomping discoteque for all ages with our very own charismatic D.J. -Joy Obeto. Dozens of residents dressed up in exotic native costume or appeared brilliantly disguised as fairies and elves. Children's faces were painted in glorious techno-colours by Natalia Vershinn.
But the occasion was really topped off by the arrival of the Mayor of Galway City in the guise of Santa Claus!! Mayor Niall O Brolchain arrived in his chauffeur-drive limousine in the red clothes and white beard looking every inch 'Father Christmas'. He was formally received in the foyer by the Children's Choir and almost 200 happy hand-clapping residents.
He was then escorted to the playroom to take his position in a specially constructed huge grotto where he stayed for 2 hours giving out advice and toys to each and everyone of the 80 or so young residents of the Eglinton.
Thanks to the efforts of Eglinton employee Lubomir Hrivnik, all can enjoy the photographs of this memorable festive event at http://galwayasylumseekersxmas.blogspot.com

A Big Thank You (Go raibh míle maith agat = Irish) to all the volunteers who gave so much time and effort free of charge that ensured the event was such a wonderful success story...
...the organising committee who did such a wonderful job..Joy, Jipi, Helen, Huda, Adil, Dmitry, Natalia, Maria, Nikki, Breege Nichol, Carole Raftery, Brendan Smith, Adrienne Lynam, Karen Winner & Maeve Geraghty
...Karen Winner and her crew for all her fantastic inputs (grotto, costumes, games...)
...the Friendship Club who called to so mamy premises for the the toys and presents distributed at the party...
...Carole and the staff/management at the Eglinton for the fine food, wine & so much more...
..Joy for the music
...Dmitriy for the film show
...Natalia, Maria & Huda for the face painting
...Adil, Dmitriy, Helen, Nikki for the wall/ceiling decorations
...Brendan for securing the Mayor, films and acting as an elf on the day
...Adrienne, Huda & Maeve for their herculean tasks in gift wrapping & acting as Santa's trusty helpers
...Huda for painting the window murals & thousand things more
-Jipi for actings as usher and MC
-Ludo and Rado for the photography
-Brandi, Max but especially Carole, Huda & Ljiljana for the big clean-up after the party
Finally a big hug to Maeve Geraghty & Helena Heagney for securing the vital funds to pay for the essentials.