Hundreds of Irish school students and their teachers were treated to a unique and very special webinar entitled ‘Sanctuary Ambassadors; the Inside Story’ on Tuesday 8th October. With a chance to hear the moving and inspiring experiences of six very special Sanctuary Ambassadors, Schools of Sanctuary had an opportunity to find out much more about their countries, as well as the amazing ways they are now using their skills in Ireland.Ā
The webinar began in Kilrane National SChool a Champion School of Sanctuary in County Wexford, where Olga Rai is teaching. Olga shared about the impact of moving from a fulfilling and busy teaching job in Kyiv, Ukraine, to County Wexford, where she is now very happy to be teaching English to newcomers and to be part of an amazing team in a Champion Schools.
We then moved to another place of work, Dr Manizha KHan was formerly a senior dentistĀ in Afghanistan, when the takeover of the Taliban put her practice and life in peril. She described the rigorous process needed to re-qualify in Ireland, but she has now succeeded and was zooming in from the surgery, where her patients were treated to a snapshot of our webinar!”
We then moved to Athlone, home to Tika Mwalughali. Tika gave us a fascinating introduction to the cultural heritage of her native Malwai and an understanding of the complex forces leading a young woman to flee, and the even greater complexities she had to overcome in Ireland, where she now has a prestigious Masters level job. Tika gave some sound practical advice to young listeners, to ‘never give up’.
Next up we went to Cork where Josh Mbala shared his story from arriving in Ireland aged 13, without a word of English. He gave a moving testimony about the importance of schools offering sanctuary to young refugeesĀ – in his case, he never looked back, got a great Leaving Cert score and went on to a glittering university career and a current job at Apple. Josh inspired many schools to redouble their determination to make everyone welcome.
Our next speaker, Homayoon, is no stranger to Schools of Sanctuary and he gave us some beautiful insights to his native Afghanistan – not many of us knew about the world topping pomegranate harvest, for example. Several ambassadors pointed out the way thatĀ resources in their country have been plundered by one world power after another, often at a high cost in taking away peace, stability and prosperity to those who live in the country.
Kinda Nasli from Syria, now residing in Drogheda, was our final speaker. Syria’s long and proud history is often forgotten in the sad recent events of international quarrels being played out at the cost of peace. Kinda explained the painfulness of packing your life into a small bag and having to leave everything behind, and starting again in a new country where people may not accept you.Ā
As the webinar drew to a close, SoS Coordinator Caoimhe gave an overview of the current situation in Gaza and Lebanon, both countries where she has lived and worked. WE briefly looked at a world map showing the countries where there is armed conflict at present, and we offered a short moment’s silence as we wished peace and well-being to all people caught up in these situations.
We advise all Schools of Sanctuary to consider ways of using these really special testimonies as a crucial and life-forming part of their LEARN principle and to also use the wonderful resources prepared by SoS Coordinator Sive.
Resources
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xqCF5kn6qwzXYeaQKhoqRK8YTuNMgFK_4OkUv7OgsfU/edit?usp=sharing
Recording
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1krWdegl6jF0kCcWUk5fYtXGTMJgK3Lzo
Slides
Additional Resources
https://wearenotnumbers.org/category/story/