The Concorde Travel Fund was established to help young Irish Presbyterians travel, for short term service, into overseas situations (so that they might learn from and contribute to the life of the wider church) and to receive young people from overseas.
Grants will normally be available to finance travel either wholly or in part for the following:
- Those representing the Board of Youth and Children’s Ministry at Conferences.
- Young people aged 18-25 years old who want to go on short term service overseas.
Please note:
- This fund is not available for university or college electives.
- You can only receive the grant once.
- Team applications can only be regarded as one application and not individually.
- Applicants are required to attend a short interview in Church House.
- Travel grants for Summer Service must be submitted by 1st March in any year.
- Travel grants for service at other times of the year should be submitted 3 months in advance of proposed date of travel.
Travelling to Africa for 5 weeks, we didn’t know what to expect. We left Ireland with an open mind and a suitcase full of supplies to use with the children. When we arrived we were pleasantly surprised with our living arrangements; BULA Children’s home was a gated compound with dormitory style rooms, one for the boys and one for the girls. We as volunteers shared a small room with two other American volunteers who had also just arrived but were staying seven months! Our main responsibilities in the home were to provide vitamins for the children, supplying dental equipment (and making sure they used them!), helping them with homework, extracurricular activities and aiding in the general running of the home. Not long after we arrived we were also roped into teaching at the local primary school, which catered for over 1,000 children under 16!
A typical day began at 6 am with the sound of children knocking on our door looking for their toothbrush and toothpaste, vitamins and help getting ready for school. Mengo Primary school, the oldest Primary school in Uganda, began at 7.30 am and didn’t end until 5 pm. We went to school for 9am, and taught up to 90 children in a classroom the size of one that would cater for 30 back home. Trying to keep their attention was a difficult task as they knew that us “Mzungus” (White people) did not cane for bad behaviour. Back at the home in the evening, chores began and dinner preparations commence. Most evenings we tried to organise some activities before dinner, e.g. arts and crafts or board games. After Dinner was homework time and we helped the kids with this as much as we could, however it has been a long time since either of us had done any algebra!
Did we enjoy Africa? Yes. Was it what we expected? No. But really we didn’t know what to expect. There we came through the rainbow of emotions; from happiness to embarrassment, embarrassment to sadness, sadness to frustration, frustration to despair and back again. The children’s behaviour was challenging, they were so used to volunteers coming in and out, and they were very good at wrapping us around their fingers. Because they had no stable parent-figure in their lives, and they had been sent here after the loss of a parent or poverty, they felt rejected and pushed away anyone who tried to get close. We often sat in our room praying that we could understand why they acted how they did. We can recall one night where we sat in the dark (because the electric went out most nights) with a torch and bible, reading out passages looking for some guidance. Africa was a test of our faith, but the fact we survived is proof that God was always with us!
The generous donation from Church House Belfast was used to buy solar lanterns, which help in dinner preparation and homework during power outages. The electricity goes out most evenings and because they are solar-powered, they are using Uganda’s infinite energy source; the sun! We, as well as everyone in the home, would like to thank Church House Belfast for your generosity.
