Northern Ireland 30th Anniversary
Letter sent to former BVS volunteers in Northern Ireland and Ireland

17 January 2002

Dear friends,

Greetings from Geneva!

This year is the 30th anniversary of the first BVSer embarking upon his service in Northern Ireland, to a youth project in the Shankill area of Belfast. In October of last year, if my counting is correct, the 104th BVSer began her term of service — also doing youth work in Belfast.

Obviously much has changed in the past 30 years in both Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland. While there are now ceasefires, a political agreement and a regional assembly in the North, not to mention IRA decommissioning, much tension still remains, as is evidenced with "territorial troubles" in the past months in north Belfast... There is still a huge need for efforts at community dialogue, development, and of course, reconciliation.

We are still being invited to send volunteers to work alongside local groups and organizations, and current BVSers are engaged in youth and childcare work, community development, mediation, and in a residential center, at the following projects: in Belfast, with NICHS, Quaker Cottage, Forthspring Community Group, and the Mediation Network in NI; in Coleraine at the Kilcranny House farm and at the Ballysally Youth and Community Center, and in Derry/Londonderry at the Peace and Reconciliation Group. At the moment there are no BVSers in the Republic (where our placements are with two of the L'Arche communities).

Some of us have been thinking about ways in which to commemorate/celebrate our 30 years of involvement in Northern Ireland and Ireland. For the start, I would like to ask you to contribute any kinds of writing about your memories of your times there, your project work, the situations in which you found yourself - as well as photos if you can spare them - so that we can use these for - articles for the Church of the Brethren publications such as "Messenger" - and a website collecting these memories, articles, recollections, linked to the BVS website (www.brethrenvolunteerservice.org).

The news editor for the CoB publications, Walt Wiltschek, will be visiting and hopefully interviewing current BVSers and projects in NI in late March. With these and with your contributions, we would have a nice collection for articles in a summer issue of the Messenger.

I will also be asking for contributions from some of the projects with which you were placed - there are some 35 or so groups/organizations I have identified in the archives...

At this summer's CoB annual conference in Louisville KY in late June, we might also have the opportunity in an hour-long session to focus on the work in NI with a recently returned BVSer. Plus, a new BVS video in the making will likely highlight some of the volunteers/projects in both N Ireland and Ireland.

Maybe there will be enough funds for an autumn gathering of the project partners and current BVSers plus former BVSers now living in N. Ireland, but I am not sure about this yet.

And if any of you has any other ideas, please let me know!

Thanks for your time and help on this, and

Blessings and best wishes to each of you,
Kristin Flory
(coordinator, Brethren Service Office, Geneva)