Mid-Way EVS Training

From the 26th to 28th March 2010 I did the Mid Way EVS Training. As the name of the Training says, it represents a reflection, a meeting point, a place to share our experiences in the middle of the trip... And how it was said was done.

The Mid Way EVS Training was a way to meet againg with all the EVS volunteers who all of us already met at the beginning of our adventure. Some of them were now already friends. The Training was more relaxed than the other one, more chherful, more fun. The main aim of the Training was to meet again with our collegues and partners and become a helpful hand sharing our success and frustrations. And it was.

It became also a space to share good practice in our different projects, the things we were doing than went well and could be useful tools for other EVS volunteers.

It was also a reflexion about our future, we put an eye at the future when the EVS will finish. We shared again our plans, our doubts, our future dreams. We created a big amount of resources where to find other projects to collaborate with, studies to do, trainings to take, etc.

Again I finished the Training with full batteries.

FETAC Certificates celebration

On Wednesday 24th of March 2010 I was invited to join the celebration of the delivery of the FETAC Certificates. FETAC is a one-year course of Youth Work and give to the participants the main knowledge, skills and abilities to work as a youthworker. Some of the workers in The Reco and Aisling Project where there to recieve the Certificate. The event was exciting. In the first moment, I didn't know too much about the FETAC, who did the course, how important it was for the participants, etc.

However, the event make me aware about what the FETAC is and how important it is. I think it's important to mention that the lordmeyer of Dublin cames to present the event and delivery the Certificates to the students.

Laurence, the training worker in BRYR, who organised the structure and all the stuff because the FETAC was developed in The Reco, was the first to give us a speech. She was glad and happy because that day had finally arrived and she was also thankful to the students for their participation.

Prunchase and Denise, two of the participants were the next ones to speak. For me was the most interesting words of the night. They emphasised the skills, abilities and changes that the training had given to themselves. They were exciting to have been in that moment and as well very thankful to BRYR, the trainers, and everyone who made that posible.

Finally, the Lordmeyer gave us some words talking about the importance of the youthwork and the youthworkers in the community.

St. Patrick's day

17th of March is St. patrick's day!! We could say: The Irish day!

The whole country strats to prepare that day some time ago. In Dublin lots of activities are running around the city during that day: concerts, performaces, street art, etc...

In the Reco we wanted to celebrate that day as well. Although the centre was closed on Wednesday 17th of March, we did some celebrations before that day. First of all, we decorated the building and the furniture properly for the St. Patrick celebrations.

On Monday, from 2:30 till 4:30, we did a kind of St. Patrick's day party. It consisted in several performances of Irish dancing and singing groups. A dancing group did their exhibitions of Irish dance. Some Irish young musicians show us some Irish songs and, at the end, we could enjoy all together with some funny Irish dance.

In the evening, during the Open Monday, two Irish musicians came to sing Irish songs for the young people. They started their show, and after a few songs the young people, full of energy, wanted to join them, so they started to sing their own songs and we made a really nice and funny show where everybody could participate singing and dancing!

Let's go the theater with the "Ex - Animation Group"

The Animation Group is the old name of this group, a new group with some of the same faces of the last months, but as well with lots of new people. Nowadays, the "Ex - Animation Group" consists of around twenty young people, all the new people arrived during January and February. Now, we are trying to see what we want to do as a group, what interests they have and what we could do to develop it. After some weeks, the young people emphasized a special interest in drama, in develop drama skills as an actor and as well as a spectator, I mean, to join a theater play.

And this is what we did the last Wednesday 10 of March. We went to a previous of a theater play called .... The Group was spectant to see the play theater. We went there and we suprised when we realised that the play would be represented in an old church that didn't work as a church anymore, but all the structure and the church stuff were still there. It was a church prepared to be used as a theater.

The play was about an old famous story. Actually that theater story was written lots of years ago.

We could enjoy the play, because the actors were really good, they acted very well and the play was dynamic.

The story made think to the spectator about topics as the human fear, the personal intersts, love, discrimination of the women, specially in the 17th century, how far can the hysteria goes in the humans, etc.

Now, all of us know what a good actor is. Next step: Bring the theater in the group: workshops, dynamics, short stories...