new view issue 27

Social Affairs magazine for community/voluntary sectorwww.viewdigital.org Issue 27, 2014

VIEW

Reports on pages 4, 5, 6, 7

IS A PERFECTSTORM IN HOUSING ABOUT TO BREAK?

http://www.viewdigital.org

Issue 27CONTENTS

Page 15 – Newwriter for VIEWdips his pen intocraze of IceBucket Challenge

VIEW, Issue 27, 2014 www.viewdigital.org

Page 8 - Lord mayorlaunches Belly Laughscomedy festival

Pages 10&11 –VIEWdigitalteam heading toCultureTECH

Page 12 – Arefood banks theanswer topoverty? ReadDr Conor McCabe’s view


EditorialUna Murphy, publisher

PhotolinePhotographer Kevin Cooper has more than 25 yearsexperience in Press and PR photography. Kevinworks to a wide of clients in community and voluntary sector organisations as well as the tradeunion movement.

For quotations, contact Kevin Cooper at Email: [email protected]: 028 90777299 or M: 077 12044751


Access to water, foodand a decent place tocall home are

hallmarks of a civilised soci-ety. But on the island of Ireland if you are on a low income you could have problems accessing all three.

In the Republic of Irelandwater charges will be one ofthe highest rates in Europe.Working as a journalist forthe BBC in Wales I researched how so called‘trickle flow’ water meterswere installed in some homeswhen families failed to pay.We will come back to waterpoverty in a later magazine.

In this issue of VIEWmagazine we have askedcommentators to look at theworrying growth of foodbanks and the private rentedhousing sector.

The private rented housing sector can offerchoice for some but for an increasing number of familiesand older people there areproblems of insecurity oftenure and poor standards.

Professor Paddy Grayfrom the University of Ulsterlooks at the prospect of increased homelessness if

buy-to-let landlords – manywho have a few properties –go to the wall in these uncertain financial times.

It is hard to believe thatgoing to food banks has nowbecome an accepted part oflife for many people – notonly those on welfare benefits. Dr Conor McCabeassesses this phenomenon for

VIEW and his observationsmake interesting reading.

We also preview the CultureTECH festival ofmedia and technology including the Digital Technology Conference on‘Community Day’ September18.: https://getinvited.to/cul-turetech/culturetech-digital-skills-conference.

VIEWdigital also is offer-ing free media training atCultureTECH:http://www.nwcn.org/con-tent/viewdigital-free-media-training-north-west-community-network-september-18

Cork journalist TomHickey takes a wry view ofthe ‘Ice Bucket Challenge’,one of the most successfulsocial media campaigns forcharity. If you want to takeon the challenge here is a linkto the Motor Neurone Disease Just Giving page:https://www.justgiving.com/mndassoc.

I would also like to flag upmy brave niece Roisin’s JustGiving Page for cancer research. • Find out more about herstory at: https://www.just-giving.com/roisin-pelan/2.

Brave: Roisin Pelan who hasraised nearly £4,000 forcancer research



Are wesitting ona housingtimebomb?By Una Murphy

HOUSING expert Professor Paddy Gray has warnedof a possible “timebomb waiting to explode” inNorthern Ireland’s private rented sector. Banksare currently repossessing homes from buy-to-let landlords making the families who live

there homeless.The private rented sector in Northern Ireland has grown

rapidly in recent years and how accounts for nearly 17 percentof all households or nearly 130,000 homes.

Many householders faced with landlords going bust will haveto apply for homeless status with the Northern Ireland HousingExecutive, but public housing stock has dwindled in recent years.

Most landlords in Northern Ireland’s private rented sectorare believed to be part-time or ‘amateur’ landlords operating ona small scale letting one or two homes

Experts believe that individual investors with large propertyportfolios in the buy-to-let private housing sector who have noother source of income could be badly hit by a hike in mortgagepayments

Professor Gray said: “The question is what will happen totenants living with the uncertainty of losing their home if thelandlord goes bust and banks repossess the home?

“It is unlikely that banks will continue to rent the propertybut will go for a quick sale to recoup part of their loss selling theproperty at auction at well below market value.

“The tenant will become homeless but where do they go? Itis unlikely they will be able to afford to buy. If awarded homelessstatus by NIHE they may have to move to an unfamiliar areawithout the community network they have built up in their existing location”, Professor Gray said.



The private rented sector inNorthern Ireland has experienced rapid growth inrecent decades. In 1991,there were only 28,600 (five

percent) dwellings in the private rentedsector, by 2001 this had grown to49,400.

In 2006, there had been a furthersubstantial increase in the sector to80,900 but the most rapid period ofgrowth took place in the five years from2006 when an investor-led housingboom resulted in a substantial increasein both the supply and demand for private rented accommodation and results of the 2011 House ConditionSurvey confirmed that the sector hadincreased to 125,400 dwellings and as aproportion of the overall stock is nowhigher than the social rented sector.

There are many reasons why thisincrease in private renting has grownparticularly since 2001. Many new landlords entered the market, particularly in the period 2004-2007, when house prices were increasing substantially.

Evidence from a landlord surveycarried out by the University of Ulster

and published by the Northern IrelandHousing Executive (NIHE) showed thata quarter of all landlords had enteredthe market in the previous five yearsand a further 31% between the previoussix to 10 years.

More and more people haveturned to renting privately as houseprices rose beyond affordability levels,particularly amongst first time buyersthough not exclusively and many potential buyers were outbid by investors. After the crash in 2007

although prices reduced, finance fromlenders became much more difficult toobtain due to more stringent controlson who could borrow, and the requirement for large deposits.

Social housing also contracted duethe failure of housing associations meeting targets, housing being sold offthrough the right to buy and not beingreplaced and the NIHE having to ceasebuilding. This has led to rising waitinglists and in many areas offering no hopeof applicants ever getting housed.

Although the private rented sectoris now playing such an important role inthe NI Housing market there may be atime bomb waiting to explode. Althoughthere are no recent figures available, the2010 UU survey showed that over athird of landlords (38 percent) had loanto value ratios of over 76 percent and aquarter of had interest only mortgages.

As house prices have continued tofall since then with only a recent upturn, many more could have very highloan to value ratios and indeed quite afew may actually be in negative equity.

This is worrying as, with low interest rates many may be just aboutable to maintain ownership of their

Warning: Professor Paddy Gray

Professor Paddy Gray from the Univers housing crisis facing those living in priva



properties but with headwinds such asrising interest rates on the horizon, welfare cuts kicking in meaning lowerincome from rents and the possibility ofbanks and building societies changingloans from interest only to capital andinterest payments which would substantially increase monthly outgoings.

More recent research carried outby Sheffield Hallem University for theDepartment of Works and Pensionsshows that by the end of 2013, 44 percent of landlords said they had beenaffected by arrears as a result ofchanges to the levels of Local HousingAllowance (LHA).

So with landlords facing decreasesin income through welfare reforms andpossible increases in outgoings throughpossible changes to their loans and interest rises many will struggle to remain in the sector and will certainlynot have the finances to maintain theirproperties. The question is, what willhappen to tenants living with the uncertainty of losing their home if thelandlord goes bust and banks repossessthe home? It is unlikely that banks willcontinue to rent the property but will

go for a quick sale to recoup part oftheir loss selling the property at auctionat well below market value. The tenant

will become homeless but where dothey go? It is unlikely they will be ableto afford to buy if they have alreadybeen struggling to pay their rent. Ifawarded homeless status by NIHE theymay have to move to an unfamiliar areawithout the community network theyhave built up in their existing location.

Research carried out by the University of Ulster for the NIHE and published in January 2014, 45 percent oftenants cited family/personal andarea/neighbourhood reasons as to whythey chose to live in the private rentedsector. So losing their home will alsomean losing their family and neighbourhoods and goodness knows

the affect this will have on householdsliving with this uncertainty.

In 2010, 38 percent of landlords

had loans of more than three quartersof the values of their properties. Thisamounts to 47,654 properties using2011 figures from the House ConditionSurvey on the basis that there are atotal of 125,400 properties in the private rented sector. If even half ofthese were to disinvest, or were repossessed, we could have a situationof more than 20,000 households beingthreatened with homelessness placingfurther pressure on an already overburdened social housing sectorwhere there are around 40,000 households currently on the waiting list.So do we have a timebomb waiting to explode?

What will happen to tenants livingwith the uncertainty of losing theirhome if the landlord goes bust andbanks repossess the home?

‘

’

sity of Ulster tells VIEW of a potential ate rented homes in Northern Ireland



Specialist consultancy in:-

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Contact

Lord Mayor ofBelfast NicholaMallon at thelaunch of thisyear's BellyLaughs ComedyFestival. Theevent in Belfastbegins on September 24 andruns to October 5

Image: Kevin Cooper


Edwards & Co. solicitors advises charities and the voluntary sector in Northern Ireland

on a wide range of legal issues including charity creation, charitable status and

constitutional matters, trading and commercial arrangements, employment law,

finance, fundraising and property law, as well as dealing with the Charity Commission

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Our team offers a full range of legal services including mediation, wills,criminal law,

clinical negligence and personal injury claims, as well as family/matrimonial work.

Practical advice and a sensitivepersonal approach. We prideourselves on our unrivalledcommitment to clients’ needs.

Contact Jenny and Teresa: Edwards & Co. Solicitors, 28 Hill Street, Belfast, BT1 2LA.

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Web: edwardsandcompany.co.uk

VIEWdigital communitymedia social enterpriseand the North West Com-

munity Network (NWCN) havejoined forces to mark Community Day on September18 at CultureTECH, Derry.

VIEWdigital is offering FREEmedia training for community groups led by mediaprofessionals, including formerBBC NI TV Editor ‘Newsline’Angelina Fusco.

The event will take place atHolywell, DiverseCity Community Partnership, BishopStreet, Derry, on September 18.

Registration is essential so ifyou are interested please get intouch with NWCN at;[email protected] or call 028 71279090.

Young people will be challenged to comeup with tech solutions for social goodduring CultureTECH.

If your community or voluntarygroup wants to use technology to solvesocial issues then SI (Social Innovation)Camp wants to hear from you.

Students in Further and Higher Education will bring their energy andcreativity to solve challenges that areeasily understood and that are ripe forinnovation

Glen Mehn, Managing Director, SI

Camp, said: “The web and related technologies hold huge potential to create change in many different ways:how people hold those in positions ofpower accountable; who they rely on toprovide the services they need to livehealthy, happy lives; or how they make adifference to something that affectsthem. But for any of this to happen, wehave to understand what people reallyneed and start building the technologythat can help – which is what Social Innovation Camp is all about.”

There will be a session about SI

Camp at the Digital Skills conference atCultureTECH on September 18 to explain the challenges.

This will be followed by a gathering at Crumlin Road Jail, Belfast, inNovember. Young people will develop innovative creative solutions tothe challenges posed by community andvoluntary groups. There is a £5,000 cashprize up for grabs for the team and ideaswith the most potential to make an impact.

For more information, contact SICamp's Patricia Flanagan [email protected]

THE Welsh Government has setup a Digital Inclusion initiative to help small businessand communities to make themost of the internet.

Communities 2.0 includes ascheme aimed at the Community and Voluntary sec-tor in Wales offering digitaltechnology support. The initiative is part of the ‘Delivering a Digital Wales’strategy which prioritises support to the most digitally excluded groups in society byhelping them overcome barriers, building their confidence and creating opportunities for them to usenew skills.

Andrew Jacobs from the

Meet VIEWdigital te

Digital tips: Naomh McElhatton

VIEWdigital team:From left, VIEW editor Brian Pelan,VIEW co-founderUna Murphy, trainers AngelinaFusco and Willis McBriar



Welsh Government’s Digital Inclusion will be among thespeakers at the Digital Skillsconference at CultureTECH,Derry on September 18.

The conference will focus onhow skills can be improvedwithin the community and voluntary and business sectors.

The event is part of CultureTECH, Derry City Coun-cil and Go On NI to have 1,000Digital ‘Champions’ trained upto help people with basic digitalskills.

Naomh McElhatton of DigitalAdvertising NI and NorthernIreland’s Digital Champion willbe on hand to spell out what isbeing done to improve digitalskills in Northern Ireland. To gettickets for the conference clickon this link: https://getinvited.to/cul-turetech/culturetech-digital-skills-conference

CultureTECH 'Community Day' is allabout media, technology and getting people more familiar with everything dig-ital. VIEW asked Sinead Lee, OfcomNorthern Ireland, what the organisationis doing to promote media literacy.

“At Ofcom, we define media literacyas the ability to use, understand and create media and communications in avariety of contexts,” said Sinead.

“It enables people to have the skills,knowledge and understanding to makefull use of the opportunities presentedby both traditional and new communica-tions services.

“It also helps people to manage con-tent and communications, and protectthemselves and their families from thepotential risks associated with usingthese services.”

Older People are using tablets toget online in a Advice NI projectwhich uses volunteers to show

residents in sheltered accommodation how to get information from the web.

The 12-week iPad classes are part of a Supporting Active Engagement digital inclusion initiative which takes place atmore than 50 Fold Housing Association sites in NorthernIreland.

Residents find out aboutwhat type of benefits they are entitled to as well as information about energy prices.

Advice NI's Sarah Lynch, theproject manager of the iPadTraining 'Supporting Active En-gagement' initiative, said: “Somuch of life now exists online.Older people want to do theiPad training to spend a socialhour together and learn the language around social media.

“We work in rural communities with people whoare socially isolated.

“Each group is different;some people want to knowabout Skype while others wantto find out about Google Maps,”she said.

• If you want to find out more aboutVIEWdigital media training classes, contact Una Murphy [email protected]

eam at CultureTECH

Media literacy: Sinead Lee




In December 2013 the Scottishgovernment published a reportinto the dramatic rise in food

banks over the past four years. It found that ‘welfare reform,

benefit delays, benefit sanctionsand falling incomes have been themain factors driving the recenttrend observed of increased demand for food aid’ and that reports suggest that these factorsare replicated across the UK.

It is not just welfare recipients who find themselvesavailing of food banks but alsopeople working on low pay andreduced hours in the brave new world of the trickle-downeconomy.

Access to the food parcels isconditional: in the case of theTrussell Trust, the single largestproducer of food banks in the UK,each request is judged by a ‘careprofessional.’

The charity of course has aninterest in framing its operatingprocedures in such management-speak, but striped of its marketing lexicon it is clear thatwhat these banks demand of people is that they beg for food.

Sherlock Holmes is not theonly Victorian to have been

reinvented for the 21st century –the middle class do-gooder is alsoback to sort the wheat from thechaff.

There is, of course, a centralgovernment report into foodbanks. The Defra-commissionedreport was completed in the summer of 2013 and quietlyshelved until February 2014.

It blamed, among otherthings, “high global food prices”for making “food proportionatelyless affordable for low-incomehouseholds in the UK”. What itfailed to mention was the role of financial speculation in creating a price bubble in wholesale food prices.

In 2013, researchers at ETHZurich and the UN Conference onTrade and Development foundthat up to 70 percent of commodity price changes, includ-ing wholesale prices for wheatand other grains, were due to‘self-generated activities’ on financial markets.

Deborah Doane, director ofthe World Development Movement, in a letter to the Financial Times in March of thatyear said that it further supported “the substantial body

of evidence that excessive financial speculation is distortingcommodity prices”.

The very same markets thatwere saved with unprecedentedstate funds in the aftermath ofthe 2008 crash are now a causalfactor in the growing unaffordability of food.

This is before we factor in themillions of jobs lost to the speculative mania, as well as thesubstitution of low-pay and zerohour contracts for a living wage.

Poverty is structural. The re-emergence of food poverty inthe wake of the banking crisis isno coincidence.

The use of bailout funds togarner profits for financial institutions via speculation onwholesale food prices; the litanyof tax avoidance measures whichserve to make such speculation aprofitable game; and the utter refusal to engage in genuine job-led growth – in all of this wesee that food banks are a plasternot for the poor but for the rich.

Food banks exist to justify unliveable wages and financialprofit. The fact that they easethose nagging middle class consciences is an added bonus.

Dr Conor McCabehistorian and author

‘Food banks exist today to justify unliveable wages and financial profit’


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When people receiverefugee status, it is farfrom the end of their

journey. They now need to navigate through the complexprocess of finding a home, a job,benefits if needed, and generallyintegrating into society.

They often have a very shortperiod of time to do so in order toavoid falling into homelessnessand destitution.

Commissioned and funded byBelfast City Council, RefugeeTransition is a guide produced byLaw Centre (NI) for new refugees,their advisers and staff in statutory agencies. It is designedto help voluntary and statutoryagencies provide a joined up service and prevent unnecessarypoverty and homelessness.

This joint project involvedBelfast City Council, the HousingExecutive, EXTERN, NICRAS, theLaw Centre and other organisations that work withrefugees and asylum seekers.

It benefited greatly from theadvice and insights of refugeeswho have gone through theprocess themselves, including Miliami Unamoyo who helpedlaunch the guide at Belfast City Hall.

The guide contains information on finding a home,looking for work, applying forbenefits, education, healthcare,family reunion, long term immigration status and more.

At the back of the binder, alog book and document wallet areprovided for refugees and theiradvisers (if they are given permission to do so by therefugee) to record and keeptogether: A summary of the

guide has been translated into Somali, Arabic, Simplified Chineseand French, with funding providedby the Housing Executive.

Belfast City Council, theHousing Executive and theRefugee and Asylum Forum, anumbrella group of organisationsworking with refugees, are to becommended for this initiative.

• Refugee Transition is availableat: http://belfastcity.gov.uk/com-munity/goodrelations/goodrela-tions-projects.aspx

New transition guide to assist refugees

Launch: Miliami Unamoyo



Usually nothing much happens during the sillyseason of August and

newspapers and TV news channels have little enough to fillthe news cycle. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, wewere drenched by a deluge of icebucket challenges.

Everyone was doing it: JustinBieber, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Lady Gaga – even former US president George Bush allowed himself to be soaked by abucket of ice.

Nearer home, sports starsfrom Rory McIlroy to Brian O'Driscoll subjected themselvesto a quick shower, but this was aphenomenon that embracedeveryone from schoolchildren toordinary folks being doused intheir back gardens.

If you switched on Facebookyou could see your friends andfamily members' videos of themselves take a soaking, andlisten in dread as they nominatedthree others to accept the challenge, quietly offering upprayers that your name was notamong them.

The ice bucket challengestemmed from an idea by CoreyGriffin, inspired by his friend PeteFrates who has ASL (or motorneurone disease as it's knownhere). Tragically, Griffin drownedjust a few weeks ago, but by thenthe success of the phenomenonwas apparent.

In the Republic and NorthernIreland the challenge was embraced and supported by thousands of people, so much so

that hundreds of thousands ofeuro was raised for the IrishMotor Neurone Disease Association.

And yet the challenge hasbeen criticised by some. True, theplethora of videos clogging upyour Facebook timeline can be tedious – there are only so manyyou can view before boredom sets in.

For those in the voluntary andcharity sectors struggling to raisevital funds, it shows how thinkingoutside the box can work wonders

and help the bottom line. It made a welcome change

from the usual fundraising effortsand gave many of us a laugh – anda wetting.

And it has raised the profile ofa deserving cause and hopefullyhelped the battle against a dreadful illness. Meanwhile, I'mhoping I have avoided the icebucket dunking myself.

So far nobody has nominatedme, but I’m willing to endure afew seconds of suffering for agood cause. Just not now.

Out of nowhere, we were drenchedby a deluge of ice bucket challenges

Tom Hickeyconfidential

Splash story: VIEW editor Brian Pelan does the Ice Bucket Challenge

www.hickeysworld.com

www.hickeysworld.com



Late, flustered and embarrassed, I crash through thedoors of Belfast’s Dark Horse café-bar and immediately find my state of inner agitation at odds with the calm of the early August afternoon interior.

In contrast to the breathless disheveled figure I’m cutting, Chris Ledger emanates an aura of calm industry at acorner table where she has set up a mobile office.

Approaching apologetically, my feeble attempts at contrition for my tardiness are waved away with a welcomingsmile. I breath a little easier as the warm facial expression reassuringly emphasizes the lack of sarcasm as Chris gesturesat the papers and phone in front of her and says: “Neverworry, while I’ve been waiting I’ve had plenty to do.”

As we start to discuss the work of the Arts and Disability Forum, or ADF, it becomes apparent that the wide-ranging and ambitious activities of the organization sheheads up always leaves Chris with plenty to do. Yet the evident enthusiasm and good humour she displays in the face

of what our conversation reveals as a truly ferocious workload are the hallmarks of someone who has definitelyfound their vocation.

“All of ADF’s work is rooted in a philosophy that notonly rejects, but actively seeks to challenge, the overt andmore insidious forms of negative attitudes to disabled peoplethat continue to be so pervasive.

“It’s an ethos that I am personally very at home workingwithin, and as it informs everything we do, it ensures that asan organization we truly fulfill our mission to nurture, encourage and support deaf and disabled artists.”

Such encouragement and support comes in a great manyforms including a year-round programme of showcasing deafand disabled artists’ work in the organisation’s own galleryon Belfast’s Royal Avenue and through exhibitions, shows, performances and tours mounted at venues acrossthe region.

ADF also administers a programme of grants on behalfof the Arts Council.

WhenHarrymetChris

Arts and Disability Forum chiefexecutive Chris Ledger talks toHarry Reid about the work ofthe organization she leads Chris Ledger: “Our work is rooted in a philosophy that see



“Through the grant scheme the ADF has been able to offera degree of financial support to enable deaf and disabled artiststo pursue excellence in any medium of cultural expression they practice, be that producing literature, music,photography, drama, a strand of the digital arts or whatever.”

In addition, ADF has developed relationships with counterpart agencies across Europe and beyond to bring thework of internationally renounced disabled artists to theseshores and runs a spectrum of training for local disabled artistswith an increasing emphasis on helping equip them to effectively promote their work.

At the time of our encounter the ADF’s Bounce! Festivalwas uppermost in Chris’s mind. Began in 2012 to mark thatyear’s Paralympics in London, it has quickly forged a place as anannual fixture in the cultural landscape, with its third edition taking place over the final weekend in August at venues, including Belfast’s Lyric Theatre and the Black Box aswell as ADF’s own gallery.

The success of Bounce! has been such that plans are

already in place to expand the scope of the festival in 2015 toinclude a mini Bounce! programme for children.

As September dawns the ADF looks forward to pushingon with its mission to deliver ambitious high quality work.

In the immediate future this desire is exemplified by theorganization staging Liz Crow’s multimedia performance ‘Resistance’ in late October and early November.

Designed to provoke reflection on the Nazi’s grotesque T4 programme, which saw the organized murder ofhundreds of thousand of disabled people, and consideration of contemporary everyday echoes of the attitudes that led to this systematic campaign of elimination,this is a show that promises to be as uncompromising as theADF itself.

Information on the ever evolving work of the Arts& Disability Forum, including details of ticketingfor ‘Resistance’, can be accessed viahttp://www.adf.ie/

eks to challenge the overt and insidious forms of negative attitudes towards disabled people.” Images: Kevin Cooper

http://www.adf.ie/



For former RTE cameraman John Coghlan it started when he was cover-ing the war in Angola.

“I saw a woman with three children –two abled bodied and one disabled – at afeeding centre,” he said.

“She was dividing out the food – 80 per-cent for the two able bodied children andthe rest for herself and the disabled child.”

The impact this made on him led him toset up Disability Aid Aboard when he leftRTE in 2004 after covering many conflictsthroughout the world, including Ireland.

His charity, which receives administrative support from Northern Ireland charity Disability Action, has recently received £250,000 for the Mwanzaemployment project in the Lake Victoria region of Tanzania.

“Women and men with disabilities aretaught tailoring and other vocational skillssuch as carpentry, metal work and food processing to set up micro businesses.”

Belfast-based charity Tools for Solidarity provide the tools for the businesses, including sewing and knittingmachines. Tools for Solidarity was set up 30years ago –http://www.toolsforsolidarity.com

John is also a keen advocate of gettingtrade unions involved in backing the co-opbusiness set up through his training projects

“Many of these women and men hadnothing and had been begging for a fewpence a day. But due to this training andbeing able to set up their own businessesthey are able to get enough money to get an

education for their children.“You should see how proud they are

when they show you their union card.These people have had nothing and nowthey are part of a big organisation through their trade union membership,”John said.

‘50 million people livingin Africa are sufferingfrom a disability’

Beneficiaries of the programme aregiven training on how to manage co-operatives and information on employment rights.

John said that people with disabilities indeveloping countries are the ‘forgottenvoice’ of international aid. He added that 50million people with disabilities live in Africabut only two percent of them have access toany form of aid with more than two thirdsof disabled adults living in abject poverty.

John, who lives in Belfast, now spends alarge part of his time visiting projects forthe disabled in Africa as well as seeking funding for further programmes.The former RTE cameraman said: “Whowould have thought that this would all havecome about through filming a woman andher children at a feeding station in Angola.”

• Visit website at http://disabilityaidabroad.net

Our ManAbroadFormer TV cameraman John Coghlan tellsUna Murphy how covering a war in Angolaled to him deciding to set up a charity tohelp the disabled in Africa

Helping hand John Coghlanmeets villageduring one o many trips to

http://disabilityaidabroad.net

http://www.toolsforsolidarity.com



d: n

ers f his

o Africa



THE BIG PICTURESupporters of Gay Pride in Northern Ireland recentlyunfurled a massive rainbow banner across the PeaceBridge in Derry

Image: Gavan Connolly www.gavanconnollyphotographics.com

If you would like your community/voluntary sector organisation to be selected for The Big Picture, sendyour image, marked Big Picture entry, [email protected]


WOMEN’STEC recently held its first everGIRLTECH Academy, a week-long summerscheme for young girls, aged eight to 14,where they enjoyed finding out about computer programming and practical DIY skills.

The girls spent their mornings work-ing with a software engineer from KainosSoftware learning how to build a computergame and about website design. Duringthe afternoon sessions, the girls workedwith power tools, creating planters andlearning mosaic techniques.

The world of computer programmingis still very male dominated and

WOMEN’STEC, which is situated at Duncairn Gardens, north Belfast, wants toencourage young girls to think about STEM

(Science, Technology, Engineering andMaths) subjects and STEM careers as viableoptions.

Lynn Carvill, chief executive of WOMEN’STEC, said, GIRLTECH Academy is about encouraging girls intonon-traditional careers. “We want to playour part in facilitating young women intotraditionally well-paid careers.”

Belfast’s Deputy Lord Mayor, MaireHendron presented the girls with certificates of achievement on the final dayof GIRLTECH.• For more information, visit: www.womenstec.org


GIRLTECH power unveiled

Encourage: Lynne Carvill

Some of the girls who took part in the summer scheme at WOMEN’STEC Images: Kevin Cooper


htpp://www.womenstec.org

new view issue 27

Documents

issue of viewmagazine

private rented housing

private rentedhousing

voluntary sector organisations

professor paddy grayfrom

journalist tomhickey

later magazine

ofthe highest rates