wfn.org | Intensive seminar takes Irish teens from soup kitchen to White

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

House

Aug. 19, 1998     Contact: Joretta Purdue*(202)546-8722*Washington
{489}

NOTE: Photographs are available with this story.

By United Methodist News Service*

WASHINGTON - When 48 teens from Northern Ireland presented a peace plate
to Hillary Clinton one day in late July, the formality and serenity of
the White House grounds provided a sharp contrast to their activities of
the previous day.

Yet talking with the first lady, sweating in the sun while doing service
projects, and listening to six homeless people share their stories in a
Capitol Hill church basement were all part of a recent seminar designed
for them by United Methodist Seminars on National and International
Affairs.

The young people were participating in the Children's Friendship Project
for Northern Ireland Inc., which matches a Protestant and a Catholic
teen from the same area to spend six weeks with a host family in the
United States. 

The all-volunteer project to promote peace and friendship has been
bringing pairs of children with leadership potential to the United
States since 1987, but this is the first time for a seminar such as
"Breaking Down the Walls and Bridging the Gaps." The three-day event
included presentations on a wide range of social problems and skill
building in conflict resolution, as well as service projects and the
visit to the White House.

Although the seminars program is a joint effort of the United Methodist
Board of Church and Society and Board of Global Ministries, this seminar
was carefully crafted to be Christian without favoring a denomination.

Working together in service projects helped the students build trust
among themselves, said seminar director Neal Christie. For one project,
14 young people did several hours of yard work at a low-income housing
project. That was not a fun experience in Washington's heat and
humidity, Christie noted, but the participants derived great
satisfaction when told of the value of their work to the community. The
teens were divided among five local ecumenical projects so they could
see different communions working together.

Fiona Hughes and Christine Paul, both 17-year-olds from County Derry,
delivered hot meals to homebound people with AIDS for an organization
called Food and Friends.

The seminar, with sessions on social problems including racism and teen
prostitution, was a revelation for the students.

"Whenever you come to America you really only see the good things - the
nice cars, the big houses. You don't realize all the problems," Hughes
said.

Before she heard the homeless people talk about their lives, Paul said,
she had thought the homeless were responsible for their own situations.
"But then I realized they had no control over it most of the time," she
said. "I was shocked to learn how difficult and dangerous it is on the
streets."

Christie said he observed a new appreciation for some of the good things
the students have in Northern Ireland, including a free college
education and free health care for all.

Each pair of teens stayed with an American family, doing whatever the
family did. The host family agreed to offer a politically and
religiously neutral home, with provisions for both children to attend
worship services.

Hughes and Paul stayed with Sharon and Rick Harroun, members of
Dranesville United Methodist Church in Herndon, Va., for half their time
in the United States. Sharon Harroun accompanied them to the seminar and
encouraged the young women to apply what they learned when they return
home.

Both teen-agers said they enjoyed the social and tourist parts of their
trip, but the opportunity to get to know each other was unique.

"I live in a very sort of Catholic neighborhood and go to a Catholic
school so I don't really have much contact with Protestants," Hughes
remarked. 

Paul, a Presbyterian who lives only five miles away, said the school she
attends is integrated religiously, but little mixing occurs.

At the seminar, which occurred midway through their U.S. stay, the
students wrote a mission statement for themselves. It stated: "We will
create an environment where people express, respect and accept each
other's opinions, traditions and fears, through education, integration
and interaction. To regain and achieve peace, we need to compromise
through honest and sensitive dialogue. The key is time, patience and
hope for a brighter future."

This year, 126 young people came to the United States. More than 800
have come since the Children's Friendship Project for Northern Ireland
Inc. was founded in 1987 by Peggy Barrett, a Pennsylvania homemaker.

Students are selected for the program by a committee in Northern
Ireland. They and their families commit to preparation and follow-up
participation at some risk. The group's reunion in October has had bomb
threats in the past.

Niamh Gallagher, 17, from County Antrim, told Christie that she and
Laura Millar will be grateful forever for being brought together in the
program and the seminar. 

"The workshop has taught me to appreciate that we are all different and
to accept people the way they are," Gallagher said. "I enjoyed the
kindness of the homeless coming to speak to us. Their stories touched my
heart, and I would like to help the homeless both here and in Northern
Ireland." 

# # #

*Parts of this story were supplied by Tara Peterman, Washington
correspondent for the Irish Voice newspaper.

United Methodist News Service
(615)742-5470
Releases and photos also available at
http://www.umc.org/umns/