We are so grateful for all the treats our staff get every week from the residents. Nana and Irakli kidly made these delicious wraps and brought them to the canteen. Is so hard to maintain the diet around here!
Every year we celebrate "World Refugee Day" at our centres. We bring in special food and treats to break the routine and treat our residents. This year we thought that nothing would go better with the fantastic weather that we are having than some hot dogs and ice-creams!
The good weather has arrived at the centre, and the residents made the best out of it. It is amazing how uplifting a bit of sunshine can be. Let's hope the good weather stays with us for a bit!
After lots of effort and planning on the part of New Horizon in Athlone as part of an initiative to promote positive mental and physical wellbeing during the pandemic, we have received a donation of 12 bikes and helmets and...a SHED! in which to keep them stored. The bikes were procured brand new through funding from the Bank of Ireland and the Community Foundation for Ireland. The reception from residents was fantastic, and we've had plenty out for a cycle already!
What a week we had at the centre. The kids were over the moon with the latest toy donation. We are so grateful to Westmeath Volunteer Centre and the Westmeath County Council for this kind gift! The smallies already had a fantastic time playing with all the new toys.
We are so lucky to be treated twice in the same week. Music generation Leitrim is also teaching guitar lessons for beginners. Music is all around us this summer at the centre, and we love it! Thank you so much for this fantastic opportunity.
We are so excited for our residents. Music generation Leitrim has kindly organised ukulele beginner lessons at Carraig Accommodation Centre! Everyone had a great time.
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We always celebrate our residents bdays at the centres. Is such a great feeling to make someone feel special on their day!
This resident was over the moon and very surprised to see us! Happy Bday!
This year Ramadan began on the evening of Monday, 12th April, and ended on the evening of May 12th which marked the beginning of Eid Al-Fatr. During these dates, Muslims observed fasting from dawn to dusk. Eid, which is Arabic for 'feast' or 'festival', is celebrated by Muslims to mark significant events in the Islamic lunar calendar. Eid al-Fitr is the festival of the breaking of fast where family and friends come together to indulge in a feast. The first day of Eidusually starts with a communal prayer before gathering to celebrate with a banquet of sweet and savory foods.
'Eid Mubarak' is a traditional Muslim greeting reserved for the holy festival - 'Eid' is Arabic for 'celebration' and 'Mubarak' means 'blessed'. The saying can be translated as 'have a blessed holiday' or 'blessed festival/feast'.
It was a beautiful day at the centres. So we decided to surprise our residents with Ice Pops!
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We were fortunate that a local GAA club donated a few hurls to the centre. We had a ball!
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From time to time we organise 5k walks with our residents. A change of scenery is always refreshing!
Very emotional day for all the Team in Carraig Ac as a family departed from our centre. They have been living with us since we opened, it was hard to say goodbye.
We wish you the best of luck on this new chapter of your lives, you will be missed!
Beautiful day in Ballinamore. We've decided to abandon the office desks for some shrub trimming, we are so lucky to have this outdoor space!
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Last week we contacted all our residents explaining we are running a Talent competition called “Carraigs Got Talent”. We invited all residents to send us a video of their talent (e.g., Dancing, singing etc.) or if they wish to show us their talent outside the office.
We will select a winner and present with a prize!
We are so spoiled! This week our team got a chocolate Krantz Cake from one of our residents as a mid-week treat.
Krantz cake – is an Ashkenazi Jewish cake prepared using yeast-risen dough. It has been described as the "most popular cake on the west side of Jerusalem" and potentially being the most popular cake in Israel. We are so lucky. It was absolutely delicious!
New day new course! This time our residents enjoyed an online cookery course by “Drumshanbo Food Hub” (all ingredients were provided to them).
And what fun they had, you can see the final product in the pictures—looking forward to the next one.
Back in February, we had a Goat & a Lamb in the centre. One of our residents visited the management office and told us how those goats and lambs made her think about his farm back home in Zimbabwe and the Goats she raised. She shared this photo with us.
Sligo/Leitrim family support group organised another online cookery course for teenagers. They also supplied all the ingredients, and let us tell you that the finishing dishes were amazing!
A resident was celebrating Vaisakh and invited us to try the traditional food!
Meaning of this day: Vaisākhī, also pronounced as Sikhs, observe Baisakhi. It marks the beginning of the Sikh (Nanakshahi calendar) solar New year. Vaisakhi marks the first day of the month of Vaisakha, is usually celebrated on 13 or 14 April every year and is a historical and religious festival. It signifies a new year of harvest for the community.
We are very proud of receiving a Certificate for our involvement in the Toy Library set up during Covid-19 for the Children of Carraig Accommodation Centre!
Well done to our fantastic team at Carraig!
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Throw Back Thursday to Easter! Our team treated our youngest residents to Easter Eggs and an Easter Hunt.
They were delighted with the treats, and so were we! Who doesn't like a bit of chocolate?
Hands-on the kitchen today at the centres as our residents joined an online cookery course organised by Sligo/Leitrim Family support group.
And what a treat! The Sligo/Leitrim Family Support group supplied all ingredients to the residents who wished to participate in the course.
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Last Friday we had the Mobile Music Machine at Temple for an outdoor concert for the residents!
They were amazing. The weather stayed dry and our residents had a fantastic time (and so did we!).
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We keep saying it but, we have the best residents we could ever ask for! One of our Georgian's residents dropped these amazing cakes called Qada Cake.
We've learned that Qada is a traditional sweet that Georgian grandmothers treat their youngsters with. She wouldn’t tell us how she made them, just that they have lots of butter! But believe us, once you try fresh Qada right out of the oven, you forget about the calories!
We wanted to spark a little bit of joy on Saint Patrick's day at Exchequer Accommodation Centre, even during these strange times.
As this centre is only for adults, we decided to make a special Irish inspired lunch and bring a selection of treats for the residents to enjoy!
This year we decided to organise an in-house San Patrick's kid's parade! We had such a fantastic day, the sun was shining, the kids were in costumes, and we even had face painting for them! What a day!
A resident surprised the staff at Carraig with this delicious lasagna dish. We feel very spoiled!
We are working on the final touches to make all the mothers at our centres feel extra special this coming Sunday.
Flower arrangements and a note to acknowledge the superb work they do all year for their families.
Happy mother's day to all the moms out there!
The first blossoms are already happening, and the centres look so beautiful. Our team at Temple is getting the gardening beds ready for the polytunnel re-opening! We can't wait for all the delicious veggies and fruits and the pictures from the Temple in the spring.
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Since we opened the first centre, we have always had our Happy Wall up in the reception area.
It is a wall for our residents, where they can hang pictures, notes, posters! A pinboard of memories and happy thoughts to uplift the residents and staff.
The weather was great and so was the trip. The residents had a blast at the animal farm.
They learned all about the different animals, from goats to lizards. The smallies were very excited to go on this excursion.
Such a fun time.
We can't wait for a new adventure!
Cake, candles, happy faces and a small party for the birthday kids!
Last summer we had one of those perfect summer days so difficult to see in Ireland! Warm weather, blue skies, sun shining…
The only thing that was missing was some ice-cream so we brought an ice-cream van for a summer treat.
Such a fun day for all the families and the staff but specially for the small ones!
Saturday 20 June
The residents celebrated World Refugee Day– an international day designated by the United Nations to honour refugees worldwide. This day is celebrated globally on 20 June and celebrates the strength and courage of the people forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution.
This day is marked in our calendars as a very special occasion. We celebrate their courage and resilience in rebuilding their lives.
All the families were very excited to play with the snow, specially the smallest ones who didn’t doubt in getting outside and organize a snow war!
Yet again, so spoiled! A resident brought a Medok cake, a Georgian-style honey cake to the office today. So soft and delicious, the perfect treat for a cup of tea!
We learned that the cake was incorporated in Georgian cuisine from the Russian Federation, and its original name is medovik. This tasty cake is usually made on special occasions and ordinary days.
If you want to learn how to make yours, you can find the recipe in the link below. We are sure you will love it as much as we did!
http://www.georgianjournal.ge/georgian-cuisine/33118-medok-georgian-style-honey-cake.html
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