'Failte Isteach" expands to Dunshaughlin

Conor Lenihan, Minister of State with Special Responsibility for Integration Policy, will officially launch 'Fáilte Isteach Dunshaughlin" in Dunshaughlin Library, tomorrow (Thursday) 26th March. Fáilte Isteach is a community project involving volunteers welcoming new migrants through conversational English classes. First established in Summerhill in October 2006, Fáilte Isteach has been running in Dunshaughlin since January with the support of librarian Barbara Scally and her team, and has been a great success, involving a large group of volunteers from the town as well as students from 11 different countries. Liam Carey, national development officer for Fáilte Isteach, praised the contribution of the volunteers from Dunshaughlin who attend the sessions every Thursday night. 'We had a tremendous response from the people of Dunshaughlin when we went looking for volunteers and each and every one of them have shown great diligence, commitment and expertise. That so many people give their time so willingly and freely is a wonderful reflection of them as individuals but also of the community spirit that is so evident in Dunshaughlin,' he said. Mr Carey encouraged others to get involved: 'Fáilte Isteach is a wonderful example of active citizenship. It is about a community looking at a major issue in their community and doing something about it,' he said. 'I would encourage people, if they are interested in tutoring on the programme, to visit the library on a Thursday night to see the project in action, or, if they know friends who might benefit from the opportunity to improve their English language skills, to encourage them to attend.' Fáilte Isteach Dunshaughlin takes place every Thursday evening from 7pm to 8.30pm. The lessons are free and all are welcome. Tomorrow night"s launch by Minister Lenihan is at 7pm. The genesis of the project was featured on RTE"s 'Would You Believe?" at the weekend. Twenty years ago, Mary Nally established the Summerhill Active Retirement Group in response to a lack of facilities for the village"s older community. She resolved not to let her elderly mother simply sit staring into the fire. As a nurse who had first-hand experience of caring for older people at St Joseph"s Hospital in Trim, she was well aware of the negative health implications which came with a lack of activities and isolation. From a portacabin based at the back of the local health centre, that group mushroomed into the 'Third Age", a whole network of organisations and support systems for the elderly which have had a positive impact on the whole community. As well as a resource centre, advocacy services, computer classes, PE classes, social events, annual holidays and outings, Mary Nally has set up a helpline for senior members of the community, manned by volunteers which received 5,600 calls in 2007. It is run by older people for older people. This initiative has been rolled out across the country and has recently stretched across the Atlantic to Yonkers in New York where Mary Nally and some of the volunteers have been training local people to run such a helpline. Her latest project is 'Failte Isteach", a programme where older people teach immigrants conversational English. This has proven to be a lifeline for them and also a way of including people from outside in the life of the community. Nessa Childers, Labour"s MEP candidate in Ireland East, has congratulated the Third Age Foundation on its successes over the past two decades. She was visiting the reception to mark the airing of the RTÉ documentary 'Would You Believe" which on Sunday night showcased the work of the group. 'Particularly noteworthy in recent times have been the growth of the Senior Helpline and the English language classes that have been created for new members of the community. These two projects have shown the ability of the members to adapt to a changing society and continue to give help, assistance and friendship to those most in need,' Ms Childers said.