"I decided to get involved with Community Sponsorship when I saw a piece on TV about the first family who arrived in Ireland. I said to myself, if you could do one thing in your life, something practical, human to human, for one family, Community Sponsorship is it."
My role was to coordinate the Community Sponsorship group and to introduce the idea to the wider community. I wrote up a list of about ten people I knew in the community that might want to help. I told them the idea I had and asked if they would be interested in joining me. They all said yes. The thing is, like most people, we had no agenda. We just wanted to help people.
We were delighted when we were told the family were coming. They arrived on the 10th of December. We were in the minibus driving down from Dublin Airport, and it was so wild and wet outside.
They were shattered, exhausted. I could see in their eyes that they were thinking, “what was going on?” Some of the group was waiting for them at the house, with the fire lit and food on the table. When we arrived at the house, the father gave me his little girl in her car seat. She was asleep so I carried her in.
“It’s a very humbling experience to think that you can actually help another human being.”
At that moment, looking down at her, I imagined her in twenty years’ time – a grown woman, educated, confident. I thought about her future and being able to tell her that I was there; I carried you into your first home here in Ireland. I’d tell her about the incredible courage of her parents that night, bringing their family here, doing everything for them.
That week, we invited them down to the Christmas carol service. I gave them a little introduction, and everyone gave them a big clap. People were coming up and shaking hands, being very welcoming. It was a wonderful thing to see. They were refugees who had to flee their home, and here we were at Christmas welcoming this family into our community.
It’s a very humbling experience to think that you can actually help another human being really. With the war in Syria, seeing what’s happening to the people, this was our way of reaching out and saying, “I’m with you through this time.”
If you could imagine an Irish family having to go to Syria, then wouldn’t it be wonderful to think the local leader in a little community somewhere saying we’re going to try and help them? When you turn things on their head like that, you see that it’s our common humanity that connects us.
Community welcome brings people together to help newcomers settle into local communities across Ireland. Whether you are an individual or a group, you will have something unique to contribute. We can help connect you with others and offer guidance and support.