2008 Kara and Doug at Oakgrove

Fifteen years ago in 2007, so the story goes, John Harkin at Oakgrove Integrated College in Derry/Londonderry, received an email from Douglas Holwerda in Seattle requesting permission to visit, and since that time, an unbreakable bond was formed. Apparently, Mr. Harkin didn’t realize initially what this meant – a group of American students and teachers coming to stay and needing host families. But, as ever resourceful and energetic, Mr. Harkin came through and fifteen years later several of us educators in Seattle and over 100 young people call Oakgrove our second home.

As we sit in Seattle in February of 2022 and look back over the years, we get a little bit of “something in our eyes” thinking about the amazing experiences gifted to us in Northern Ireland by Mr. John Harkin and Oakgrove College. This is, after all, the time of year for HFB travel! Every year, driving over the hill to view the Foyle River and the historic walls, we know we are home. It is difficult to select only a few of the many memories to share, but we will try to do our best.

2010 Cathedral Youth Club music with R Arbuckle

Dramatic theatre ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­has played a big role in our learning and teaching in our Northern Ireland visits over the years. And we learned early on in our visits that the need to address the mental health of our young learners is universal. From drama class enactments at Oakgrove to professional productions on the stage of the Derry Playhouse and the Lyric Theatre in Belfast, we were confronted with social issues of paramount significance to youth in the US and Northern Ireland. The connection to Foyle Search and Rescue, the volunteer organization that patrols the Foyle River, saving lives and bringing closure to families, grew out of drama productions on youth suicide, and led to a classroom visitation to Roosevelt in Seattle by Patricia Byrne, Artistic Director of Sole Purpose Productions in Derry and author of “Blinkered.” We came full circle when our young travelers participated in the formation of the RHS Student Suicide Prevention Team. Thus, a clear demonstration that the dramatic arts are crucial to changing lives for the better.

2010 Retreat at Corrymeela

What a joy it was in 2014 to see Roosevelt Hands for a Bridge students serving ethnic food alongside their Oakgrove buddies at the massive Multicultural Evening, at The Venue during the City of Culture celebration of the Walled City! At Corrymeela, a center for Peace and Reconciliation, we held retreats around a cozy peat fire in the big room, singing, journaling and baring our souls in order to form closer bonds. Nothing clears the cobwebs from the mind like a cold, clear stroll on a freezing beach on the Antrim Coast with views of Rathlin Island.

The power of the personal story is integral to our visits to Oakgrove since 2007. In an historically divided society, listening with open hearts and minds to multiple stories from diverse perspectives helped us see the humanity in each other. We took lessons from the stories told by Richard Moore – blinded as a child by a British soldier, by Kathleen Gillespie  – whose husband was forced by the IRA to drive a van loaded with explosives into a British Army checkpoint, by members of the Apprentice Boys historical marching society, by the founders of the Museum of Free Derry – all these stories reminded us that we need to conduct this same practice at home. Whose stories are we not hearing at Roosevelt, Seattle, in our own country?

We, the Seattle educators, who traveled to Oakgrove and stayed in our “wee” flat on Pump Street, wish to celebrate our love of this city and of the people who made us feel welcome. Over almost a dozen visits we’ve played with primary school students, chatted with middle schoolers, danced with high schoolers and become better humans because of those we’ve met.

2015 Walking on the Derry Walls with Mr. J Harkin

2016 Tour with D Mules

2019 Bloody Sunday Memorial

Name: Rebecca West

Year(s) in Hands for a Bridge: 2006-2007

School Affiliation: Roosevelt High School, Seattle, WA

Post-secondary school education and/or work, and future plans: 

I completed a BS in Public Health at the University of Washington in 2012. In 2016 I graduated from Columbia University with a Master of Public Health with specializations in Population & Family Health and Global Health. During my masters degree I was an intern at ICAP at Columbia University, a non-profit arm of Columbia that conducts global health research and program implementation. I spent six months in Malawi working on a national bio-behavioral survey that measured HIV incidence and prevalence (new cases and overall burden of disease). During graduate school I also served as a board member for the Sexual Health Action Group and co-authored a paper reviewing resources for girls going through puberty in low-income communities in the U.S. After completing my masters I continued working for ICAP and managed a portfolio of HIV service programs in Zambia, Kenya, Lesotho, and Swaziland. I moved to Acornhoek, South Africa in September 2017 after taking a job as a Project Manager for the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies at the University of California, San Francisco. I currently manage four studies related to HIV testing, treatment and retention in care. I’m currently preparing for an upcoming trip to Amsterdam to present some of my work at the International AIDS Conference, and am working on doctoral applications for the coming fall!

Reflection:

Hands for a Bridge helped me find my voice at a time in life when I was starting to seriously think about what I wanted to do and what kind of person I wanted to be. I have no doubt that my experiences with HFB were an enormous catalyst in setting me on the path I’m on today. My time in South Africa with HFB piqued my interest in learning Sub-Saharan Africa, and I keep coming back – as an undergraduate student in Zambia, a volunteer HIV educator in Tanzania, and now I’ve turned it into my career. The interdisciplinary nature of HFB’s curriculum also opened my mind to the field of public health, which integrates the health sciences, statistics, sociology, and anthropology. My experience with HFB has also really come full circle in my current job. One of the main trials I am in charge of is measuring the impact of community engagement and education on HIV outcomes. It is so much fun to be part of a project that is focused on using the arts to promote discourse and community cohesion around such a critical health challenge. As I move ahead with my career I find that I am able to draw on the skills I developed as an HFB student – facilitating dialogue, fostering creativity, and creating inclusive spaces to learn and grow – to be a more compassionate public health researcher.

What: The HFB Year End Celebration includes student performances, song, dance, tasty desserts, and the opportunity to engage with HFB past, present, and future. We hope you can join us!

When: Tuesday, June 5, 2018 at 7:30pm

Where: Roosevelt High School Library

Name: Zimkhitha Ndinga

Year(s) in Hands for a Bridge: Since 2004

School Affiliation: Isilimela Comprehensive High School, Capetown, South Africa

 Post-secondary school education and/or work, and future plans:

After graduating high school in 2004, I took a bridging year and joined an NGO called the South African Education and Environmental Project (SAEP) where I received tutoring to help upgrade some of my matriculation grades as well as volunteered as an English tutor for high school students in Cape Town townships. In 2006 I enrolled for study at the University of the Western Cape for study towards an undergraduate degree in Politics and English. During this time, I continued to volunteer as a tutor and I loved it. In 2011 I was employed by the same organization (SAEP) where I worked as a Post Matriculation Programmes’ Coordinator. My duties involved ensuring that students who matriculated from some of Cape Town’s most impoverished township schools were afforded opportunities that would help them be successful in their future. We helped them prepare for exams, assisted them in getting information about the different study options available, helping them apply to universities and colleges, helping them access funding and then supporting them through university. This was my way of paying it forward and I loved every minute of it. All this we did, while also encouraging the programme participants to also pay it forward in some way. I did this work until 2014. I then went on to work as a Courses and Training Coordinator at the Market Photo Workshop, at the Market Theatre and on a research programme at the Desmond Tutu Foundation, based in the township of Gugulethu where I worked to ensure that young women had access to proper sexual and reproductive health services and information. I was employed as a Counsellor/Health educator.

I now work, on a freelance basis, for Nal’ibali, a national literacy campaign. I am also working, together with a friend, on registering an NGO that assists students in Langa’s primary school to access opportunities such as computer literacy, extra tutoring, extracurricular activities, employment or training for their parents, food and clothing, as well as pyscho-social and counselling services. We are also working on involving students from HFB Seattle in a pen-pal and book club programme with students from this programme. This is something I am very excited about. We are now working to formalize and register the NGO so that we can hopefully extend the services to all the primary schools in Langa.

Reflection:

I loved being part of Hands For A Bridge!!! I came from a very poor family, and was orphaned at a young age and raised by my grandmother. I did not know much about the world outside my own. Being part of the programme exposed me to so many opportunities and suddenly made me question the state I and many young people lived in. It gave me the opportunity to engage with young people who thought differently about the world and it made me see it differently. After joining, and visiting Seattle, I came back more aware of what role I could play in changing the lives of other young people and it definitely set me on the path I am on. The year I joined the programme, was the same year that I joined the debating team. When I got to high school, I was definitely the nerdy type and not good in any sports. I did well in my academics but had very little confidence. HFB gave me the confidence to both be myself and excel in what I was good at. I did extremely well in my debating and became the number one speaker nationally, and I loved it. Suddenly, being a nerd was the coolest thing. There are obviously a number of things that have contributed to the person I have become, but if I had to single out one, it would be HFB.

Name: Amy Stromme

Year(s) in Hands for a Bridge: 2009-2010

School Affiliation: University of Puget Sound

Post-secondary school education and/or work, and future plans:       

            After graduating from Roosevelt High School in 2010, I enrolled at University of Puget Sound. There, I majored in International Political Economy with an emphasis in Global Development. In my senior year my favorite professor, Nick Kontogeorgopolus, recruited me to work for a non profit, called Teach Thailand Corps. TTC places English teachers in communities that wouldn’t typically be able to afford or attract teachers. So the day after I graduated in 2014, I boarded a plane and headed for Bamnet-Narong Chaiyaphum, Thailand where I would write my own English curriculum, teach 5 classes a day, 5 days a week in two schools in different villages, and developed a lasting love for service. When I returned from Thailand I continued in this trajectory, volunteering overnight with my church’s women’s shelter, and eventually taking a position as an AmeriCorps member with United Way of King County. In that role my partner, Jess Walton, and I were tasked with increasing food security for low income students at Wing Luke Elementary School. By implementing the nationally recognized Breakfast after the Bell program, we were able to increase breakfast participation by 300% at the elementary school, a difference of 100 more students eating breakfast each morning. Looking forward I hope to eventually get my masters in social work and am currently looking for work in nonprofits in the city that work to combat homelessness.

Reflection:

Hands for a Bridge was a critical experience in my high school years! It planted in me an early commitment to social justice, and challenged me to recognize my responsibility not only as an American, but as a global citizen. I think HFB was the first place where I was asked to take a real inventory of my identity and think about how that relates to others inside and outside my immediate communities. I also loved the emphasis HFB put on art and dialogue. I remember HFB always being a safe place to ask questions, explore ideas, and speak my mind. In college, when I was selecting a major, a friend told me about the International Political Economy department. IPE immediately appealed to my interests but the deciding factor was when my mother asked me, “Doesn’t that major sound a lot like your old HFB program?” If it weren’t for HFB I think I would have pursued my original plan, an Art History and Business double major, and I would be looking ahead to a future in curatorial work in an institution. Instead, I committed to IPE, and I want to be a change agent in Seattle. This is single example of it’s impact, but I earnestly think I might be a different woman if it weren’t for HFB.

Please enjoy this newsletter put together by the HFB class of 2016-2017. The newsletter includes reflections, poetry, lyrics, photos: a snapshot of this cohort’s activities and learning.
HFB Newsletter 2017 PDF

Earlier this year, during the visitation by South African students, HFB students had a new opportunity. Students from both sides of the exchange spent the day at Jack Straw Studio recording poetry, monologues, and songs. We are thrilled to present just a few pieces here.

Asithande:

Bongi:

Olivia:

Shadrak:

Save

You can see what we’ve been up to and all that we achieved last year by downloading our 2015 Annual Report!

HFB 2015 Annual Report (1)

GiveBIG 2016 is your chance to make an impact on our community’s youth development and social justice work. On Tuesday, May 3, the Seattle Foundation is stretching every gift made to area nonprofits through givebig.seattlefoundation.org, so your donation will go further. You can schedule a donation directly by visiting our page,  https://givebig.seattlefoundation.org/npo/hands-for-a-bridge as early as Monday, April 18.

Hands for a Bridge relies on the support of our community to make our work possible. With your donations, we are able to make our social justice and arts curriculum available to students regardless of their financial abilities. We are also able to invest more in the communities we visit in South Africa and Northern Ireland. This is only possible with sustained financial support for people like you.

On May 3, please consider making a donation to our work because your gift will go further. Funds from the Seattle Foundations stretch pool will be added to every gift made that day!

Please make your impact on May 3 and help us make this the BIGGEST GiveBIG day yet!