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