The Forest Experience

Gerry Callaghan 2021-06-13

We have started a really lovely project.

Each Saturday we take children from the Athlone DP site to Portlick woods.

There they can jump and yell, play with water and mud, climb trees and generally have a wonderful time. They learn how to use tools, and rig rope bridges, and light fires with flint and steel. They learn how to solve problems and work together.

Very special thanks to the New Horizon volunteers, to Eliya and Rurai, our wonderful team leaders, to site management for providing lunches and bus service.

Special thanks to all parents for allowing their beloved children to go on a great adventure!

Categories: Uncategorized

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FAQ’s

We are a front line refugee support group mainly working on the Lissywollen Direct Provision site in Athlone. Our focus is on providing information and help to the 300 (on average) residents living there.

We also work on the Temple Direct Provision site in Horseleap, Moate.

Everyone in the DP sites in Athlone and Temple is what is described as a ‘Convention’ refugee. People who have arrived in Ireland under a United Nations resettlement program are known as ‘Programme’ refugees.

Convention refugees are people who have made their own way to Ireland and have applied for recognition of refugee status when they arrive.

Various official and unofficial routes and methods are used to travel to Ireland. These change continually, depending on weather conditions and enforcement levels at crossings.

On arrival people are normally housed for a few weeks in Baleskin, near Dublin airport. They are then dispersed to various direct provision centres around the country.

People can get protection if they meet the conditions set out in The United Nations Convention on Protection of Refugees.

See Definition of a Refugee

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