The Routine: Monday

The 174 Trust:
Where the Gods of Cross-Community Work Dwell

I recently received an email I'd like to share with all of you:

"Dear T.J.,

I am constantly in awe of your blog posts, pictures on facebook, and how handsome you are. Your life is just so intriguing and hot and I want to know more about it. Please, PLEASE tell me allllllll about what you do in [Northern] Ireland. Thanks!

Sincerely,

Seymour Butz"

Well Seymour Butz, honestly, I found your email horrifyingly on the stalker side, but since you are such a true supporter of my volunteer work in Belfast, I have decided to document my day to day work life for you. Godspeed, Seymour Butz.

Technically, my Monday usually starts out with a YAV meeting in City Centre that lasts about 3-4 hours or I have a one-on-one with Doug. But then by about 2:30, I'm at the 174 Trust. Here's some pics of the place (thanks again for letting me borrow your camera, Courtney). You can also take a tour of the 174 Trust on their website.

John, Me, and Geoff (My supervisor at the Trust)

I luckily ran into these two awesome dudes while I had my camera. Naturally they joked and said "Let's get this over with."

Some pictures of the lovely office. After School Club often sends me here on Fridays to let parents in. I know, I know. Already talking about Friday. Could I jump the gun any sooner?

The Trust is currently expanding.

The Stairs:
My Most Fascinating Caption Yet

The Meeting Room

Hangout Area

Kitchen

More Kitchen

The New Lounge:
Pool, Table Tennis, and more!
...I'll take a pic of the inside another day. The key was being funky :/

Playground

At that time there was actually snow in Belfast. That much snow was a big deal to them. Like, everyone freaked out and panicked. Anyway, this playground has football goals/nets, a jungle gym, a slide, and a climbing wall.

The Irish School:
For Kids!

Cool Artwork

I do a couple of things with the After School Club. I do pick-ups with Charlene, I play with the kids (anything from "cooking" to playing with action figures), and I help with snacktime. Playing with the kids is my favorite. They all have big imaginations and great senses of humor.

Anyway, so when I first arrive, Charlene and I pick up some of the kids in the 174 Trustmobile. Everyone else calls it "the minibus", but I, starting now, call it the 174 Trustmobile. Look at it! It's green and it has the 174 logo on it! It's like their Batmobile.

Then we all go inside to the After School Club room.

Aisling, my coworker, is embarrassed by how the bulletin board in the background is falling down in the picture.

When all the homework has been finished, we usually give them time in the hall to play. The hall is a place where they can run around and be crazy. They ride bikes in there, kick the football around, shoot hoops, etc.

I love the After School Club. It's one of my favorite programs I get to volunteer for. The kids are always hilarious and fun, and the people I work with are all super cool. Their names are Nuala, Aisling, Patricia, and Charlene. They all live in Catholic neighborhoods, which helps give me perspective on that community, a nice contrast from my work at Woodvale Methodist on the Shankill Road (a Protestant area).

Patricia, Me, and Aisling

AGAIN!

I leave the After School Club at 4:00 and join up with the cross-community football club, where both Catholics and Protestant boys play together on integrated teams. The age range has been from 9-17, as far as I've noticed. Every Monday, we are taken to an athletic club called The Hammer, where we play football, which of course, is soccer.

The Hammer

I kid you not, on the other side of this picture is a guy, with a jersey number of 11, scratching his bum. I couldn't get a whole pic of it from my angle, so here is just a photo of number 9.

Northern Ireland Team Pride:
Artwork Inside The Hammer

Me and Andy

The football club is lead by Bill, who also runs the 174 Trust. His son Calum also comes and volunteers. Andy is taking youth worker courses and has been placed at the Trust, so he helps out with the club, too. Usually when we're done playing football, we'll go do something else like swimming, bowling, ice skating, banana boating, or the driving range, and then we'll go out to eat at KFC or make pizzas at the Trust.

What I've really enjoyed about the club is how it doesn't really focus on differences. The boys just come together and play football. The club builds friendships and it is as simple as that. Not to say they skip over differences either, though. Bill has moderated a couple discussions with them about the protests and riots going on right now. The Catholic and Protestant boys had different things to say about it, but it didn't affect their friendship in the slightest.

And that's Monday.