Get Active!
Concern has many events you can take part in: debates; campaigns; the Know Your World quiz and much more. Get active!
The Climate Chaos Wave
Posted by Lizzy Noone in Get Active! | 19 November 2009 |
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My boyfriend has a tattoo of a wave on his arm. He acquired it for free from a guy called Tattoo Lou. Now, I’m far too unromantic to dream about a matching tattoo, but an upcoming event in Dublin has me thinking of waves and tattoos.
A low carbon future?
The Wave will show mass support for a better, low carbon future for Ireland and the world. We want the Irish government to show leadership at Copenhagen.
Developing countries particularly need support to cope with the impacts of climate change. The world urgently needs to stop global warming from exceeding the dangerous threshold of 2°C.
Devastating effects
This is one of our last chances to show that we want to reverse the devastating effects of climate change.
No ordinary protest
On a not-so-serious note, The Wave is also going to be a lot of fun! It’s not just an ordinary protest march through Dublin City. Make it as fun as possible by not only wearing blue but dying your hair blue or wearing fancy dress. There’s lots of ways to surf this Wave!
So please come along and catch the Wave to Stop Climate Chaos. We’re assembling at 12 noon at the Custom House Quay on 5 December.
Are you on my wavelength? If so, email me at lizzy.noone@concern.net for more details.
Women of Concern launched in Cork
Posted by Gail Williams in Get Active! | 15 October 2009 |
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First Dublin, and now Cork! We recently launched our Women of Concern group in Cork City in the hospitality suite of the Heineken Brewery.
Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer
Several of our group ambassadors were there including Cathy Davey, Rachel Allen and Nora Owen.
Struggles
Louise Supple, Concern’s regional director for central Africa, gave a moving presentation on the struggles faced by women in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
This was followed by a talk from Mary Rwegasira, an equality and HIV and AIDS officer from Concern’s operation in Tanzania. Mary outlined some of the successes that Concern has had there.
This was followed by a talk from Mary Rwegasira, an equality and HIV and AIDS officer from Concern’s operation in Tanzania. Mary outlined some of the successes that Concern has had there.
In the crowd
We were also delighted to have the Lord Mayor of Cork, Dara Murphy, and his wife Tanya Murphy in attendance. Other attendees included Miss Cork Etaoin O’hAlpin, Irish race walker and World Championship silver medallist, Olive Loughnane and representatives from Network Cork, with whom we partnered for the event.
Anyone want to buy a goat?
Posted by Alan O Reilly in Get Active! | 13 October 2009 |
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The new Concern Gifts website is online now.
Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer
The gifts will assist all areas of Concern’s work – emergencies, livelihoods, education, health and HIV and AIDS. Your gift could mean clean water for people in an emergency; animals to help families start breeding livestock; and school supplies for children who never dreamed they’d get a decent education.
How it works
Buying a gift is simple. You can order online, or you can call us. If you're in Ireland, call us on 1850 458 400. If you're in the UK, call us on 0800 032 4001.
Concern will then send you a special card that you can give to someone, telling them all about their gift. We’ll make sure the money from the gift you buy goes directly to the people who need it most.
Last year’s success
Here are some of the things we were able to do last year, thanks to gift buyers:
- We distributed emergency food, water and seeds to more than 450,000 people
- In Somalia, Concern gave 9,323 children school supplies, and helped train 287 teachers
- In Chad, 618 families each received two goats, enabling them to generate income by breeding livestock
- In Rwanda, we helped 7,669 people to undergo voluntary HIV testing
By buying Concern gifts this year, you can help us do even more for people living in poverty.
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Coming to a school near you
Posted by Alan O Reilly in Get Active! | 8 October 2009 |
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25 years of debating
The new season of the Concern Debates is about to begin. Have you registered yet?
Debates they are a’ changing
We’ve made a few changes to the competition this year. Among other things, the structure of the league phase has been changed. You’ll find everything you need to know in the Debates section of the site.
Taking a bow
Ok, now it’s slap-ourselves-proudly-on-the-back time. The Concern Debates are 25 years old this year. This means 25 years of getting students to grapple with issues relating to world poverty and development.
During this time, 45,000 students have taken part; that’s an enormous amount of discussion and learning about development. All you debaters, past and present, should feel very proud indeed.
Something completely different
Posted by Alan O Reilly in Get Active! | 21 August 2009 |
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James Esses was one of the debates-winning students that travelled to Kenya with Concern. During the trip, James and the other Irish students witnessed the devastating poverty in Nairobi’s slums.
The trip to Kenya, James says, “was completely different to anything I had pictured in my mind.”
Visiting schools
James recounts his experiences:
“My favourite bit has to be when we visited the various schools. We saw the vast difference between a poor school in the slums and a high-performance school.
“It was very interesting to speak to the children themselves about their lives. We got to see what they thought of Kenya and the way they lived. Also highly entertaining were the few mini-debates we had with the schools along the way. We lost every single one of them!
Entrepreneurs with ambition
“The most surprising thing in Kenya was that people in the slums weren't actually sitting around feeling sorry for themselves as you might expect. They all seemed content with their lives and were trying to make the most of it.
“This was especially true of the few ‘young entrepreneurs’ we saw. They had just set up their own hair salon. Seeing these young people with so much ambition really struck me.
Dissapointing
“One thing did affect me in a negative way though. The UN claims to be giving a lot of money to the slums, but in fact its work is so spread out that it doesn't seem to make a real difference.
Real change
“This showed me that everyone needs to play a bigger role in helping people less fortunate than us if any real change is going to happen.”
“Nothing is impossible”
The Concern Challenges Showcase is taking place in the Westbury Hotel on 22 August.
Our guest will be Grania Willis. Grania, who only started climbing in 2004, became the first Irish woman to climb Everest from the north side. Grania’s motto is “nothing is impossible.”
Find out more
For more information, click here.
On your bike
Good news for all you cycling fanatics that long to raise money for charity: Concern is the official partner for the Gaelforce Cycle West event.
All welcome
These challenges are open to people of all fitness levels. Whether you're a fitness fanatic and want to set records, or if you just want to test your personal fitness, we've got you covered.
And don't be put off by the name; you won't actually be cycling for 24 hours unless you absolutely want to!
Mountain bike challenge
Set in the Nephin Mountains just outside Newport, County Mayo, the mountain bike course is approximately 20km long. It includes some forestry track and part of the western way. Expect a couple of fairly steady uphill sections, but what goes up must come down! Get ready for some fast downhill sections too.
Road cycle
Starting and finishing in Delphi Valley, County Mayo, the road cycle route is roughly 48km long. It takes you along one the most scenic drives in the world, taking in popular beauty spots such as Ashleigh Falls, Croagh Patrick and Mweelrea – the highest mountain in Connacht.
Team cycling
If you're more of a team player, you can join as part of a team. Every team member must complete one lap as a minimum, which is achievable for even "Sunday cyclists."
Register here
Interested in taking part? Register for the event here.
