Northern Ireland Experience day 1 "YMCA, from young to slightly older ;)"

OK so this is my first blog, I hope it doesn't bore you all too much. Today we met Stephen Turner (Irish General Secretary) and visited 3 different YMCA's with him, all in different parts of the country. The first being Belfast YMCA where we met some research interns looking at how YMCA Ireland can measure it's outcomes and the benefits it has on communities. This work was really interesting and I cant wait for Stephen  to send me some of their research and see how we might be able to collate some evidence back home in my YMCA (Barnsley.) We then met Geraldine and Sian (sorry if I've spelt this wrong) who are responsible for the Youth Work programs ran at Belfast YMCA. It was interesting to see the kind of work that the YMCA engage young people in as the majority of their provision is targeted work due to most of their young people living away from the YMCA. They have some really interesting and inspiring programs that have clearly inspired many young people (Friends Forever and Youth in Governance.) We also met two of the workers from their gym who had some really interesting things to say about the vibes and ethos of the YMCA and how that is relayed into their work with gym members, with people often coming back to them due to their relaxed, positive and accepting style of working.
We then went to Greenhill YMCA which is an outdoor centre. There we met Kenny and Brendan who are both staff there working on reconciliation projects with both young people and adults. We got chance to have a good chat with them about their work and the issues they face on a day to day basis as well as some of their own personal views and experiences.We also met Joe and Sarah who are international volunteers from Germany and Canada. It was awesome to hear what they are doing and it was so inspirational to see people dedicate such a long period of time to their volunteering especially when they are so far away from their families. We had a good chat with them and then we had some free time so we got to go on the zip line and do some archery which was all a good "craic". We were all very grateful to them for giving up their time to entertain us!
Our final stop for the night was the drop in club at Lisbon YMCA, this was a fantastic experience and one that is the closest to my YMCA so far. I got to meet Lynn (again sorry if I've spelt this wrong) and all the rest of the staff and volunteers working there and see the passion they have for the work they do. They have a fantastic team there who all firmly believe in what they are doing. I met some awesome young people too and had some really good conversations about the YMCA both sharing their experiences and letting them know a bit about mine. Definitely some future international young leaders in that group! Really hope some of the young people I work with back home get to share some experiences with them maybe in Prague??
Overall today has been awesome, I've learnt a lot and met some really cool people. I hope to stay in touch and keep sharing our experience of our YMCA's. Bring on day 2!

Night all,
Alex Taylor
Barnsley YMCA
(Using Rachel's account because I don't have my own yet)