Senator Aisling Dolan - Strong Voice, New Vision.
Great to see funding of €24,440 for five community groups in County Roscommon. Part of an overall announcement by Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman, T.D f for €566,492.60 under the Communities Integration Fund will be made available to support local community-based organisations across Ireland to play a greater role in welcoming and integrating migrants and refugees.
The Communities Integration Fund is to support new families living in Roscommon and to share the rich wealth of cultures that new communities bring to Ireland.
It can take time when moving to a new place to learn the language, make new friends and become active in sports clubs & groups. I remember when doing an ERASMUS student exchange to learn French in Belgium that it took me 6 months to even understand the language because people talked so fast and with lots of slang too! However a whole new world opens up once you become part of conversations, activities and really get to take part”
Five Roscommon organisations will benefit from the fund this year and if other groups are interested to consider applications for funding next year.
Well done to Roscommon Leader who have received funding for the Donamon Fáilte Centre working with families from the Ukraine. The Roscommon Lions Club have also put huge effort into supporting the Donamon Centre and they will also receive close to the maximum award of €5,000 to work on a Fáilte Ukraine Rossie radio project and volunteers with interest in radio would be very welcome. I’d an opportunity to visit the Donamon Centre with Minister Helen McEntee earlier this year and it was great to see the work of all these groups as well as Roscommon Volunteer Centre and Roscommon County Council at the Centre.
Community Games in Ballaghaderreen will also have a special focus this year for children from Afghanistan and Syria who have fled to Ireland to be safe. Sport can be a great way for all ages to get involved and not much language is needed for most games apart from knowing the rules!
Refugee Support in Ballaghaderreen and Boyle Family Resource Centre have also been funded for projects to support families. Children can find it easier to settle in once they are in school and learn very quickly it can be more challenging at an older age so these projects can be ways to help people get more involved. It is a competitive fund and some have not been successful, I want to thank all community groups who applied for this fund and are always looking at how to make events more inclusive of everyone who lives in our county.
Welcoming the latest announcement, Minister O’Gorman said:
“I am delighted to announce this funding which will support local communities nationwide to reconnect and to celebrate the rich cultural diversity in our society.
Settling into a new environment can be a daunting experience for migrants and refugees. Local community-based initiatives, such as those awarded funding today, can play a vital role in supporting new arrivals through this transition period, providing them with the opportunity to connect with their new community and to realise their full potential.
I would like to take this opportunity to commend the tireless commitment and dedication local community based organisations have shown in supporting new arrivals.”
|
Organisation: |
Project name |
Amount |
|
Refugee Support Ballaghaderreen (Friends of the Centre) |
Ballaghaderreen Integration Initiative |
€5,000.00 |
|
Boyle Family Resource Centre CLG |
Boyle Cares |
€4,500.00 |
|
ROSCOMMON INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT COMPANY |
Donamon Refugee Centre Support Project |
€4,990.00 |
|
Roscommon Lions club |
Failte Ukraine Rossie Radio Project |
€4,950.00 |
|
Ballaghaderreen Community Games |
Integration of Syrian & Afghanistan Refugee children into Community Games activities |
€5,000.00 |
|
€24,440.00 |
The Communities Integration Fund has been in place since 2017 and arises from Action 51 of the Migrant Integration Strategy, which calls for funding to be made available to local communities throughout Ireland to promote the integration of migrants and refugees.
Purpose of projects/activities
The Communities Integration Fund 2022 open call for proposals ran from 10th March - 6th April 2022. Over €500,000 has been made available in 2022 to support local projects through small grant funding of €1,000 - €5,000 per successful project.
As in previous years, calls for proposals were grouped under ten themes aiming to promote inclusion and diversity:
Projects supporting the following objectives will be given special priority this year and will attract additional marking during the selection process:
As this Fund is intended to support the integration of migrant and host communities, all applications must demonstrate the ability to involve both migrant and host communities in the activities proposed. The maximum grant amount that can be applied for is €5,000 and the minimum grant is €1,000.
