Jude Marguerite & Ben's blog: Wider Horizons Clanrye Spring 2012

Folk may remember Jude made a flying visit home in early February to meet up with the next Wider Horizons group who were preparing for their visit to Boston. Well here is the Group having just arrived and met their host families. Jude had met them at the airport and escorted them back to the Old Dorchester Post for their rendez vous with their host families.

Earlier Jude had met the group at Logan airport. When he spotted the gang coming along Jude first noticed Nathan and Mark horsing Dunkin Donuts into them like they were going out of fashion. They had each bought a box of six.......for themselves......starvos.....and all Mark could say was, 'ahh these things are lovely hey', while Nathan replied, 'big-time'. Here Gavin likes the look of the donuts and asks Mark, 'Mark, give uz a donut mate, go on give uz a donut, just one, sure ye've six of them'.

Here are the group getting off the bus. This is always an exciting moment as the group are always excited to meet IIIC staff and their host families, and vice versa.

Here Nathan meets his host family, Jeffrey and Carmen Santos.

No-one was more excited to be in Boston than Nathan. Nathan is from Newry. Here he is meeting Ann Marie for the first time while still hugging his box of Dunkin Donuts in case anyone runs off with them, he's guarding them like they're the crown jewels!!

Here Sarah and Nicole meet up with their host family, Olive and Anthony.

Sarah, Nicole and Sarah Louise are excited to be in Boston.

At the Old Dorchester Post IIIC staff (Ann Marie, Erika and Jude) welcome the group. Here Jude takes the opportunity to chat with Karl.

The gang have all left with their host familes and it's time to relax for Gary, Ann Marie, Jude and Erika. The photographer who took this pic must have thought there was someone to Gary's left, an invisible man maybe, a ghost perhaps.....or maybe they were just crap at taking photos.

Clanrye supervisor Gary didn't take log to start messing around. Here he is with the Big Gun at the Old Dorchester Post. Jude and Erika join in too.

This time Ann marie joins in. Gary's loving it, look at him, just like a big wee-an, he thinks he at the fair in Strangford God love him.

Just a wee reminder, but here is Jude meeting the group back in Newry in February.

And no sooner have the group arrived and they are hard at it in the Cyber Cafe. The Cyber Cafe is the internet cafe in Jude's work, the Irish International Immigrant Center. Here are L-R: Richard, Erika (Jude's colleague), Dave (also Jude's colleague), Nicole and Sarah Louise.

The Wider Horizons program is great. It mixes a group of young unemployed people from across the community at home and allows them to live, work and play together. It is a 20 week program in total, and for 6 of those weeks the young people work in Youth & Community organisations in Boston. Here is Nathan at his workplace.

Besides working, the group also take part in many social activities which are also organised by IIIC. Like this trip to New York. Here, messing around on the boat to the Statue of Liberty are: Ghandi, Chrisy, Bap and Laura.

Interestingly every now and again this blog has provided a glimpse of the progress being made on the New World Trade center building in New York. Well here is the latest. It's now the tallest building in New York and still climbing.

Chrisy, Ciaran, Nicole, Sarah Louise larking around in New York.

Social activities range from cultural awareness events, to sporting events, to nights out and touristy events. Here the group visit a Mosque. That's Jude on the right sitting beside the host for the evening, Hiam Alsawalhi. Hiam was delighted to show everyone around the Mosque and to discuss how Muslims live and pray. This was very interesting indeed and it allowed the group to sneek-a-peek at Muslim culture too. Jude's colleague Kim is second from left in the back row.

For each group that comes over Jude organises a game of softball as one of the social activities. It's always great craic, it usually ends up in an argument or five but it's still always great craic. Here Sarah and Ghandi soak up the rays during the game.

Niamh, Ghandi, Karl and Kim playing the outfield.

Gary and Kim acting the edjits. They don't have to try to hard mind.

Jude is about to nail one good and proper. He likes to think he's good at this...........at least he's happy......that's all that matters.

Told ye!!!

Ghandi ripping one!!!

Sarah and Shane enjoying the craic.

Nicole shows of her slinky football skills and......

..........Nathan shows off his not-so slinky frisbee skills.

The softball game is always great fun and today was no exception.

Nathan the slugger!!

Jude is focused here as he does a spot of fielding.

Another social activity was the trip to see the Boston Celtics. Here at the statue of Boston's famous player Larry Bird are, L-R: Niamh, Gary, Mark, Ciaran, Jude and Richard.

Nathan loves chatting, and he loves his sports too, just like Jude. But Nathan absolutely loves chatting about sports.....big-time......and of course so does Jude. So when Nathan specifically asked that he got to sit with Jude at the game.....well naturally it was sorted. Actually Nathan's favourite word happens to be 'big-time', he's says it all the time.....big-time this, big-time that ..... everything's big-time in Nathan's world.

Super KG, Kevin Garnett. The group got to see the last regular season game. This game can often be meaningless as the Celtics would already have qualified for the playoffs by now, but not tonight, they needed to win to clinch 3rd spot in the East and with it home court advantage in the playoffs. That meant that the big guns, like Garnett, were all playing tonight.

NBA Eastern Conference player of the month Paul Pierce.

Here's Dean making his way out after the game. Jude asked him, 'Dean, what's wrong with ye? Dean replied, but Jude could not hear him. 'What's Dean, what's wrong, have ye got a sore leg or something? Dean muttered something again before Jude asked, 'Dean, why are ye walking funny, did you hurt your back? When he finally made it down the stairs Dean slid off into the night and Jude did not get to hear what the problem was. It was only the next day when chatting to Ann Marie that he realised why Dean was walking so funny....he's afraid of heights and was keeking it in the Garden at the game!

Ghostbusters ............. Irish ghostbusters even ......... Gavin and Nathan.

'What time is it Nathan', asked Jude. 'It's big-time Jude', replied Nathan.

Oh yeah......Nathan wanted plenty of pics taken so he could show his folks back home, here's another of him and Jude.

'Over here, look over here....what are ye looking at? cried Jude. Kieran, Ann Marie and Gary are looking elsewhere but it's Jude's camera, it's his pic and he's looking straight ahead!!!

Tonight, thankfully, the Celtics won this game on a score of 87 - 74. Big-time!!!!

The 6 weeks always fly in very quickly and so it was the case again as the graduation night arrived. Here Jude's colleagues Kim and Erika help get the celebration set up at the Elephant & Castle which happens to be right next door to the IIIC office.

Even Clanrye senior supervisor Kieran got his hands dirty by helping out with the preparations.

IIIC Executive Director Sister Lena kicked off the graduation night by congratulating everyone on completing the program and for all their hard work. Lena loves these programs particularly because she loves seeing the difference that the programs make to the lives of so many young people from home. That is why she drives the programs in the way she does.

.Accompanying Sister Lena tonight was VIP guest of honour Irish Minister for Arts, Hertitage and Gaeltacht, Minister Jimmy Deenihan.

Aside from being a Government Minister, Minister Deenihan is also a very famous former Gaelic Football player having captained the Kerry Senior football team to winning the 1981 All-Ireland. He won 5 All-Ireland's in total and Jude was only too happy to get his chance to meet Minister Deenihan.

Up Down!!!

'I say...... that's a nice suit you have there Richard', said Jude. 'I say...... that's a nice suit you have there too Jude', said Richard. 'I say........ that's a nice............

Richard's work placement was at Artists for Humanity. They do lots of arty things.....like make cool t-shirts!!! Richard fitted right in at Artists for Humanity and really enjoyed his work.

Here Jude and his colleagues get their pic taken with Minister Deenihan. L-R are: Ally, Erika, Kim, Sister Lena, Michael, Minister Deenihan, Toni, Kielan, Clare, Neil and Jude.

The Wider Horizons graduation is also a great opportunity for the young people on the program to showcase their many wonderful talents. Many folk claim to be able to sing when they havn't got a note in their head, but one thing's for sure..........Niamh could sing.

The single greatest thing about the Wider horizons programs is the progress that particular individuals make on the program. Dean, by his own admission, didn't have the confidence to do many things before he started the program, and certainly not speak in front of a group. He was very quiet. But by the end of his time in Boston he couldn't be kept quiet, folk couldn't get a word in edge-ways! Here he proved his new found confidence when he delivered a wonderful speech at the graduation evening.

Mark plays in an Orange band at home and he also showed off his musical talents tonight as he played a few excellent tunes.

They all come from different backgrounds, different cultures and different creeds, but by the end of each Wider Horizons program........they are a team.

Jude poses with Nathan and his host Mum Carmen. Carmen was still all smiles after 6 weeks, that's always a good sign!!!

But it's not just the program participants who are muti-talented........the staff are too. Here Kieran, Gary and Jude get up to sing a wee number.....and dance too.

'Alive alive oohhh, alive alive ohhhh....

.......alive alive ohhh.....

......cockles and mussels......

.......alive alive ohhhhh!!! Now what about that folks. What...........you couldn't hear it......well maybe that's a good thing. Let's just say these three edjits were not in the same league as Niamh!!!

Jude has seen many a great catch.....in his hurling days, in football, maybe even more recently while playing softball.... but tonight he saw the greatest catch ever....it was made by none other than Downpatrick's finest catcher ...... Kieran 'the Cat' Taggart. So the craic was ninety and songs were being sung when somehow this table was knocked for six......it fell in a matter of two seconds ......no more. But watch how Kieran not only notices instantly what's happening but has the skill, speed, focus and accuracy ......to reach out, face contorted and all, and......

......somehow manage to safely peel his pint away to safety (without spilling a drop) and continue to sing goodo as poor auld Chrisy tried in vain to hold up the table. Now that's what I call a catch.....and focus too......it's hard to tell what was best, the catch or the intense focus!