Click here to e-mail us
Welcome to Project Children
Denis Mulcahy, Chairman of Project Children
Contact details for Project Children and our co-ordinators in the U.S.A. and Ireland
The heart of Project Children
U.S. states participating in Project Children
Differences between Northern Ireland and the States, such as weather, money and the words we use
Safety and host family rules and advice
Advice on things to pack, not pack and what to do on your day of departure for the summer of a lifetime
The plane journey and what happens after landing at J.F.K.
An American friendship letter to Northern Irish parents
A visit to the exhibition held at Queen's University, Belfast during February 2002
Our current I.T. project
The story of children flying to Washington with American Eagle
A four week programme held in Washington D.C. for 13 college students from Northern Ireland
Construction trainees from Northern Ireland spent two months in America helping to build houses
American kids travel to Derry to play soccer with Northern Irish
Teaches kids about the theatre and each other
A sample of some of the children who have returned to the U.S. to continue their education

CONGRESSIONAL OBSERVER PROGRAMME

by Colin Blackstock, Belfast

This summer, Project Children hosted 13 college students from Northern Ireland. They spent four weeks in Washington, D.C. Much of that time was spent observing Congress, but they also got a chance to meet professionals all over town- lawyers, judges, reporters, economists, police officers, and others. It was a whirlwind visit and an extraordinary experience for this group of young people. Colin Blackstock, one of the 13, writes about it here.

"In June, I received a telephone call telling me I had been selected to go to Washington, DC as part of the Congressional Program set up by Project Children.
Interesting things are always happening with Project Children. Peter rainey, one of the participants in our Congressional programme this past summer, ended up shaking hands with the President. Peter was staying at the home of Bob Kyle, an economist at the White House, and went to work one day with Bob.

To say I was excited would be an understatement. I, a politics student, was being given the opportunity to travel to the political center of America and experience something I had only read about in books or learnt in lectures. Life inside the Beltway. I could hardly wait for the trip to begin, and counted down the days one by one until the big day arrived. When it did I think I was more excited than a five-year-old on Christmas morning!

After our arrival and meeting our host families (who were all fantastic people) we were given our schedule for the following weeks. My jaw dropped when I saw what we would be doing. We were going to meet professionals at the top of their careers who were involved in making Washington tick. We were also going to get an inside glimpse of the workings on Capitol Hill.

We spent the first few days getting used to the Washington heat, sightseeing, and enjoying the Fourth of July celebrations. The first week we had tours around the Capitol, Congress, the Senate, the Library of Congress, the Supreme Court and, of course, Oakley Brooks's famous "Death Tour" of Arlington cemetery and the Washington memorials. Oakley heads the U.S. office of Short Brothers, a Belfast aerospace company.

Later on we were introduced to the US legal system and spent time with high-powered lawyers. We also spent time in congressional offices learning the difference between politics in theory and politics in practice. We also visited development projects in Anacostia and examined policing issues in the District, met with officials from the State Department involved in the peace process, visited the Irish and British embassies, met members of the Washington press corps as well as members of the White House cabinet. Three of us got lucky and even bumped into the President!

I don't think I've ever had a more amazing and enlightening experience. It allowed me access to extraordinary people and places and I am truly grateful. Like so many others I am indebted to Project Children, and all the volunteers that the name encompasses. I have met incredible people through Project Children, had a wonderful summer and made new friends. I only hope that in the future I can give back a little of what Project Children gave to me.