Hi!
I am Sian, I am in my third year working for Belfast YMCA as a Youth Project Worker and have been the co-ordinator of Friends Forever for the last two years. This will be my second trip to New Hampshire with the progromme and I am so excited to be given the opportunity to join these wonderful young people on their journey!
Other than Friends Forever, I also co-ordinate the Belfast YMCA's political education programme called Youth in Government and I deliver some community relations programmes in Primary Schools across Belfast.
I got involved in Youth Work through volunteering for Northern Ireland Children's Enterprise as a Youth Volunteer. I was 16 when I joined and I have been on exchange projects to Romania, Serbia and Belgium through the charity. I still do some work with them and I am now also on their Management Committee.
In addition to this, I am currently back at university studying for a Post Graduate Diploma in Community Youth Work and I volunteer for the Oh Yeah Music Centre in my spare time!
Tuesday 20 September 2011
The first meeting.
The first meeting of a new group is always a little nerve-wracking. During tonight's session, however, the ice was broken in the most unusual of ways- by a plastic lifelike baby doll. One of our young people was placed in full charge of a realistic plastic 'baby' that she had to care for over 24 hours. This meant that during our introductions and initial exercises to get to know the group, we had real life baby wails and nappies to be changed! It certainly made for an unusual session!
We developed our working contract which will underpin the way that we will work together as a group, how we will achieve our goals and aims and the expectations of both group and leader.
Myself and my coworker Jonny are really excited by the group and being given the opportunity to watch as they start on this amazing learning opportunity.
Sian
We developed our working contract which will underpin the way that we will work together as a group, how we will achieve our goals and aims and the expectations of both group and leader.
Myself and my coworker Jonny are really excited by the group and being given the opportunity to watch as they start on this amazing learning opportunity.
Sian
Wednesday 7 September 2011
The beginning...
After an intensive recruitment process and several long days of conducting interviews- the Friends Forever 2011-2012 group from Belfast YMCA has been selected. The young people are from a multitude of backgrounds with diverse religious, social, economic and gender breakdowns.
The group will be visiting New Hampshire at the end of October for two weeks visiting many different organisations, performing a range of community service and interacting with a variety of different people. The experience is a once in a lifetime oppurtunity to experience the American culture whilst learning from one another about the culture of their own country.
The learning does not just end when the group return from America! They will meet weekly to go through a training accreditation looking at leadership, communication, conflict resolution and global awareness. At the end of six months, the participants will attain a qualification which can be included on UCAS forms or CVs.
This blog will follow the progress of the group as they spent time in America and as they continue their journey in the months that follow.
The group will be visiting New Hampshire at the end of October for two weeks visiting many different organisations, performing a range of community service and interacting with a variety of different people. The experience is a once in a lifetime oppurtunity to experience the American culture whilst learning from one another about the culture of their own country.
The learning does not just end when the group return from America! They will meet weekly to go through a training accreditation looking at leadership, communication, conflict resolution and global awareness. At the end of six months, the participants will attain a qualification which can be included on UCAS forms or CVs.
This blog will follow the progress of the group as they spent time in America and as they continue their journey in the months that follow.
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