The Ulster Project changes the hearts and minds of Northern Ireland's children by giving them an opportunity to build friendships that cross sectarian lines. Every summer, we give them the chance to meet youngsters from the other side of the conflict in a nuetral, non-threatening atmosphere. Back home, these teens may live only a few blocks away from each other, but peer pressure and old prejudices have kept them from reaching out to one another. Before they meet in the Ulster Project, they might recognize each other as just a face on the street, one that must never be approached for fear that this stranger may be hostile toward a Catholic or Protestant. That is all left behind when the Project starts. Here in America, strangers soon become close friends. Fear and prejudice slips away and a new, more hopeful view of life emerges. The bonds that are forged here are taken back to Northern Ireland and are shared with family and friends. That face on the street is transformed into a life-long friend, and Northern Ireland is one step closer to making peace a lasting reality for her people.
We know that our work is making a real difference because we hear it from our Ulster Project alumni. They tell us that life is slowly changing for the better over there, and they love to share what a difference the Project has made in their own lives. I personally can attest to this, as I have seen Belfast change from a virtual war-zone in a previous visit (in 1993) to a modern, fun city that is starting to attract visitors from all over the world. I'll never forget the lady who managed the bread-and breakfast hotel where I stayed during my last trip to Northern Ireland. When I told her that I was involved in the Ulster Project, her face lit up, and although her own children were not involved in the Project, she thanked me for helping to build peace in her country. She explained that she was a Protestant who had married a Catholic. She received much grief from neighbors over the years because of this, but shared that she was glad the Ulster Project existed to help change the attitudes that had caused her so much trouble in her own life. What greater reward can one receive? And what a beautiful testimony to our efforts!
Would you like to be a part of this?. Consider hosting a teen this summer. You will make a new friend who will soon become like a member of your own family. You will learn a lot about a different people and culture. And you'll have memories to last for many years.
For more information, contact the webmaster: dcirelli@neo.rr.com
Northern Ireland is a beautiful land torn by sectarian strife and hatred. For centuries, Protestant and Catholic citizens of this country have waged a blood fued against each other. The history of the Northern Ireland "troubles" fills entire libraries. A large part of America's population is descended from Irish immigrants who were forced to seek a better life elsewhere due to the troubles in Northern Ireland. In the spring of 2003, our webmaster (yours truly) and my family made a trip to Northern Ireland in search of our ancestors. We managed to find the actual home that our patriarch, Albert Speer, built with his own hands in the early part of the nineteenth century at Ballymoney, County Antrim. In 1851, Speer had to leave Northern Ireland to escape the Irish Potato Famine, which had taken millions of lives and was aggravated by the troubles between the two communities there. People are still emigrating from Northern Ireland to this very day because of "the troubles".
It seems hard to believe that people who worship the same God would hate each other and refuse to live in peace, but that has been the sad reality of life in Nothern Ireland for many years. Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland live in a de facto "apartheid" situation. There are Protestant neighborhoods and Catholic neighborhoods, Catholic pubs and Protestant social clubs. 95 percent of all schoolchildren attend segregated schools in Northern Ireland, including most of the young people who come here to experience the Ulster Project. All over that country, one can find hateful graffiti and murals that extol the so-called supremacy of one group or another. In the heart of Belfast, Northern Ireland's capital city, stands a thirty-foot-high steel wall erected by the authorities in order to prevent neighbors from throwing rocks and bombs at each others' homes. Ironically, this is called the "Peace Wall", but there is no peace to be found there.
Most of Northern Ireland's people are tired of living in fear of their neighbors and desire to live in peace. But old grudges die hard and change comes slowly. An historic peace agreement was signed in 1998 between the two warring communities, and much progress has been made toward the dream of a lasting peace. But much work still needs to be done. People need to learn how to change their prejudices and attitudes about their neighbors on the other side of the conflict. To that end, the people of Northern Ireland have appealed to their friends and relatives in the United States to help their children reach across this great divide and learn to accept each other for who they are. And we are answering their call...
