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Making a real
difference
13.06.22
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| MORE than eighty ChangeMakers gathered together at an Grianan Hotel in Burt last Thursday morning to celebrate 10 years of the project making a real difference across Donegal over the last decade. |
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| Anna McGranaghan, Garda Siochana, Denise McCool, IDP, Andrew Ward, IDP, Ciara Breen, Families Matter and Jacqueline Cagder, Alochol Forum at the ChangeMaker 10 Year Seminar in An Grianan Hotel, Burt. |
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ChangeMakers – an
Inishowen Development Partnership initiative which is
partnered with Donegal ETB, Self Help Africa, Trócaire
and Concern, aims to tackle the global issues such as
sustainability, climate change, Fairtrade, food waste
and more, but on a local level within Donegal. Funded by Irish Aid, ChangeMakers has been making an impact with the community and local groups over the last decade and last Thursday the groups turned out in large numbers to celebrate ChangeMakers achievements as well as hearing their plans for the next decade. A variety of speakers took to the stage but of the stars on the day was Clonmany woman Bebhinn Mullins who spoke about how taking part in the ChangeMakers Global Development course during the pandemic changed her perspective. “This is a wonderful course, it really taught us about the global issues but with a local link,” said Bebhinn. “Everyone has the potential to be a ChangeMaker and everyone working or volunteering in the community, is a ChangeMaker.” |
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| Bebhinn Mullins Clonmany Community Centre & Siskhanyisile Dube at the ChangeMaker 10 Year Seminar in An Grianan Hotel, Burt. |
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Bebhinn’s ChangeMaker
moment came whenever she realised crab she had bought in
her local supermarket had come from Indonesia, when
there are young men from Clonmany fishing crab every day
of the week in her own locality. “From doing the ChangeMakers Global Development course I had learned a lot of about food travel and waste and I felt ashamed that I was eating this crab from Indonesia,” Bebhinn told the seminar. “I wanted to take action.” With help from FoodCloud, a social enterprise which redistributes food which is nearing its sell by date, Bebhinn and the team set up the Clonmany Community Pantry. 70 households in the Inishowen area are now using the Pantry. “The Pantry is not about what people have, it is not about poverty – although it is helping with that – our focus is on food waste and what we can do to combat that and make the world a better place. It is a very small step but it is making a very big difference,” explained Bebhinn. The team in Clonmany have now progressed through the help of their volunteers to launch the first student community pantry in NUI Galway, with more than 100 students attending it on a daily basis. Key Speaker on the day Sikhanyisile Dube told the crowd about her inspiring story of growing up in Zimbabwe and how climate change is having a devastating impact on Africa, causing drought, famine and hunger. She urged people to ‘push for change’ to try and reverse the damage already caused by climate change. “We can do so much within our own household, but we can also push for change from our service providers and within our communities,” Sikhanyisile said. “I look forward to making change with you all.” |
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| Kate O'Callaghan and Joanne Butler of ChangeMakers at the 10 Year Seminar in An Grianan Hotel, Burt. |
| For more on ChangeMakers see www.changemakers.ie . |
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