Dmitriy surrounded by some of the beautiful ladies of the Eglinton!Refreshments were served (courtesy of Carole Raftery & the Eglinton management), information exhibits were on display, residents
dressed up in their finest ethnic fashion to the delight of all who attended, traditional Irish music reverberated around the hall and rousing speeches were made. The evening ended on a particularly high note when Lorraine Tansey of CKI Galway University gave an impromptu display of fine Irish dancing a la 'Riverdance'!
A Year of Endeavours & SuccessesCommittee member Brendan Smith (from the DERI institute at Galway University) welcomed all attendees before
he proceeded to provide an overview of a remarkably successful year when approximately 30 different events, initiatives and activities took place including:
Halloween & Christmas parties that included the Mayor as Santa; children's summer camp; a series of family excursions to cinemas, playcentres, Ireland's National Aquarium; provision of an extensive series of Health & Personal Development courses; supervised Heritage trip of medieval Galway; securing equipment for an in-house computer room; provision of a series of technology classes; visits by government ministers, parliamentarians and Mayors to the Eglinton & to special off-site receptions for residents; a tennis course for teenagers; purchase of a large tennis table; purchase of a exterior Basketball Net; securing hundreds of books for the proposed Eglinton Library; university receptions for residents who completed courses in Irish cultural studies & computers; an exhibition of residents' arts & crafts; setting up of an Online Eglinton Community Newsletter; the implemention by DERI (university) of a computer recycling scheme whereby dozens of residents have been donated their own computer free-of-charge; the provision of in-house chess and arts classes with tuition coming from the residents themselves; and extensive national media coverage including two articles in the Irish Times. Furthermore, two committee members were the first asylum seekers to be finalists for the prestigious annual Galway City Mayoral Awards.Photo: Bernie (Spark), Maeve (HSE) & Paul (Aids West)
Brendan thanked the Health Board Executive (HSE) for their funding applications and all the committee members- who unselfishly devoted so much of their time and efforts to improving the quality of lives of the Eglinton residents- particularly Maeve, Carole, Helana, Brid, Adrienne, Dmitriy, Natasha, Bernie, Joy, Adil and Huda. Mention was also made of the hard-work of Anne, Patrick, the ever-smiling Carole and the rest of the Eglinton staff who do their best to make life in the centre as homely as possible as well as Isabella, Marie & Elaine who organise the fantastic in-house pre-school facility. Brendan also gave a special 'Go Raibh Míle Maith Agat' (Irish for 'A Thousand Thank Yous'!) to the other groups and individuals who have consistently worked with or on behalf of the centre's residents, namely the student Friendship Club, 'Karen the Clown', the student volunteers of the Eglinton Computer Room, the university's CKI volunteering programme, Hans Pieper for his publication of a Doctors' Guide on Care for Asylum Seekers, the Galway Refugee Support Group, Mary McMahon (VEC) and Louis de Paor of the Centre for Irish Studies.
Fostering a 'Sense of Community'However he stressed the need for more residents to get involved in the committee pointing out that so much more could be achieved if all adults were prepared to give some of their time to helping others. "Through helping others, you are helping yourself and your own family. We are endeavouring to foster a real sense of community in the Eglinton"
His speech and the list of achievements outlined must have had the deserved effect-for nineteen new members immediately signed up to join the committee!
It is not only the children that have fun at Christmas! For the first Christmas Party for the Galway city's Adult Asylum Seekers held in the Slavic-themed KRCMA in Salthill was an outstanding success thanks to the ever-hardworking, ever-smiling Carole Raftery & her band of trusty resident volunteers.
