Latest
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15. Cyprus & Refugee Support Europe
It’s been a while, my writing is a little rusty (having been so prolific in the months around the start of our #importanterstuff journey). It took some time to settle back after our amazing time in Belarus, so many great memories and so much quality time with our family over there. We are already planning our return
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14. The Mother & Child Reunion
It has been close to three months since I last donned the uniform associated with my old life. The jacket, trousers, white shirt, and shiny shoes have been replaced by a polo shirt, shorts, and runners (that’s also partly due to the great weather we’ve enjoyed all through the trip to Belarus). My daily routine
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13. And Breathe!
This week was the first few days that we’d taken as complete rest since we arrived here on July 28th. But I can’t say as it was a complete break – we even managed a 500km road trip to another orphanage/school at the end of the week. But there were days when we just took
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12. Beautiful Connections
Cherven (or Chervyen, Chervin, Chervin’, Cervene – so good they named it 5 times!) is where we find ourselves for much of our next adventure on the #inportanterstuff journey. Irina is with us for the week, and she is trying to teach us the alphabet and pronunciation. “You see the Ч in Чэрвень” (that’s the
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11. On The Road Again
The Irish are a special breed (easy for me to say as one of them!). There have been many questions over the years as to why “volunteers” from Ireland would give freely of their time to travel to Belarus in support of children who are often abandoned by their own families. A former Director at
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10. Derry Girls On Tour
Several people who have read this blog have asked – where exactly are you? Is it close to Chernobyl? Are you in a war zone? Let’s go with some geography about where exactly Belarus is. Roll out the map in front of you (either in your mind or on Google Maps – who uses those
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09. Feeling Hot Hot Hot!
I normally associate the song Hot, Hot, Hot with crowded sandy beaches (can’t say I like them too much) and hopping night clubs (I used to like them a lot). But in this instance, it’s Hot, Hot, Hot in mid-Summer Belarus. If you had read about our last visit (www.rineanna.com) you would have seen us
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08. A Home Away From Home
Following a week of “here, there, and everywhere”, it was great to finally land in our home for the next 3 weeks (and I mean home, Gorodishche is our true home in Belarus). With numbers now exceeding 200, there are a lot of new faces in the past year (and a few new ones since
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07. Let The Fun Begin
Where do I start – it’s been quite a week here in Belarus (our home away from home). Let’s start with some of the places and names that will appear in the Blog: – We had a relatively straightforward trip from Shannon to Minsk (I’m already accepting that sitting on a bus for 6 or
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06. Time For Off
It’s close for off, #importanterstuff is about to become a reality. We fly to Belarus tomorrow, the start of a 2-month adventure, bringing plenty to those that seldom see enough. This is the first of our projects, one that is so close to our hearts. But there have been so many obstacles in the past
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05. The Final Countdown
It’s the final countdown (I bet you’re singing that now – and the bad news is it won’t leave your head for the next 8 hours . . . you’re welcome!). The crisp white shirt lies in waiting for the last time, albeit adorned with the motif of my future. Importanter Stuff is about to
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04. Within Sight Of The Finish Line
The symbols of my present life (the white shirt and the lanyard) are screaming at me. “Stay”, they say, “it’s safer here”. “And you know it so well”. And in a way, they might be right! I’m within sight of the finish line, but I’m checking myself constantly to make sure that I finish
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03. Our Ask Of You
Asking does not come easily to either of us, we don’t ask often. But it seems less difficult when our asking is really about our giving. As Joanne & I begin our Importanter Stuff journey that will take us to many in need in the coming months (and year), we ask that you become
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02. 40 Years the IT Guy
“Go for it,” Shirley said, “you’re bound to get it!”. I applied, not realising that she also wanted the Computer Operator position in Molex, Shannon. It was May 1983; I was 17 and on a work experience programme with ANCO. Jobs were scarce then, most of the people I studied the leaving cert with were headed
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01. A Leap Of Faith
I have been lucky1 in my 40-year career as “the IT guy”, from accidentally becoming a Computer Operator to eventually ending up as the Head of Information Systems. There have been opportunities, many of which I have taken, and (thankfully) very few disappointments. I’ve worked in several countries, with various systems and processes, and so many
Importanter Stuff 