Ulster Project
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The Ulster Project was started in 1975 by Rev. Kerry Waterstone, a Church of Ireland priest in Tullamore, County Offally, in order to provide a safe place in America for teenagers in Northern Ireland to discuss the climate of "The Troubles" that was facing them at home. Its original success in Connecticut led rapidly to member cities across the United States.
History
After living in Connecticut through a pastoral exchange program, Revd. Waterstone witnessed the freedom and safety of exchanging ideas and viewpoints in the United States. Upon his return to Ireland, Canon Waterstone found a willing group of teenagers to spend part of their summer with host families in the U.S. He recruited various Catholic and Protestant clergy to support the idea of a project based on reconciliation, trust and the destruction of stereotypes.
After successfully bringing the project to the U.S., Canon Waterstone concentrated on expanding the project to cities across the U.S. This allowed for more opportunities for Irish teenagers to be involved and to learn of the similarities and differences between their religious affiliation, as opposed to the prejudices and bigotry that was so prevalent in the 1970s.
Currently, the project brings teens from eleven cities in Northern Ireland, including Banbridge, Belfast, Derry, Omagh, Coleraine, Strabane, Sion Mills, Limavady, Portadown, Castlederg, Enniskillen and Cookstown. The teens from Northern Ireland will live with their host families for the month of July, becoming an extra son or daughter of the family with whom they are staying. The Irish teens are selected for this experience based on recommendations from their clergy and teachers, often completing an application and interview. The host teens and families in the U.S. are selected in much the same manner, with an application process and home interview to ensure the willingness of the family to participate and to also prepare them for the hectic schedule that will be followed during the actual project.
Once selected for the project, the Northern Irish teens will meet extensively to form strong bonds with each other before leaving the country. As they will be far from the comforts of home, with only the rest of the teens and two counselors to guide them, they must trust each other implicitly before leaving the country. They begin meeting in January and continue to nurture their friendships until the project starts in July.
In the United States, there were as many as 29 cities and 17 states hosting the Northern Irish teenagers, including Youngstown, OH, Milwaukee, WI, New Orleans, LA, Lafayette, LA, Lake Charles, LA, Arlington, TX, Atlanta, GA, Salt Lake City, UT, Alliance, OH, Cincinnati, OH, Massillon, OH, Canton, OH, Tucson, AZ, Delaware, North Shore, IL, DuPage County, IL, Madison, IN, Decorah, IA, Hutchinson, KS, McPherson, KS, Greenville, NC, Pennsylvania, Chattanooga, TN, Kingsport, TN, Knoxville, TN, Memphis, TN, Nashville, TN and Oak Ridge, TN. Each of these cities/states hosts a variable number of teens, from eight to eighteen, based on their ability to secure the appropriate number of host families and raise the amount of funds necessary to host the project. In 2006, 256 Irish teens visited the United States and participated in the project.
In 2009 only 19 cities are still involved in actively bringing Teens to the United States. The other cities have stopped bringing Teens across and some have disbanded altogether. False perceptions of peace, hampered by a faltering world economy have led many projects to either decrease the number of teens that they sponsor for the trip, or stop hosting Northern Irish teens altogether.
How it works
The Ulster Project is based on a simple idea of sharing experiences. Catholic and Protestant teenagers are hosted by American families of the same religion and with a teenager of the same age and gender. In this manner, friendships are created immediately to provide a safe and trusting atmosphere. The teens meet daily in structured activities designed to foster trust between the different cultures represented in the project.
The various projects across the U.S. have different specific methods they use to teach the peace-building tools to the Irish, but central to all projects is a program called "Discovery", "Time of Discovery" or "Adventure Sharing". This weekly meeting involves discussions of the troubles facing the teens in their homes, schools and churches, and helps to teach new ways around the prejudices and stereotypes that contribute to the violence often found in Northern Ireland. A Discovery team of counselors, teachers and other facilitators organizes the activities and ensures participation from all the teens, both American and Irish, in order to teach the message of prejudice-reduction.
These sessions are confidential, giving the teens the opportunity to speak honestly with their peers and approach what are often painful subjects for the teens, e.g., the Twelfth, the "marching season", the Orange Order and the IRA.