The big-hearted residents of south Dublin have come together to raise money to welcome a refugee family to their neighbourhood.
Ann Kelleher, who founded the Dundrum and Rathfarnham Area Community Sponsorship group (DARA), said the idea came to her when she was watching the heartbreaking scenes in Kabul last year after it was captured by the Taliban.
She told Dublin Live: "I was looking at the scenes on television from Kabul Airport back in August 2021 and it was really horrific. We were all feeling, 'There but for the grace of God, this could be me and my family'.
"Then I heard a piece on the radio about community sponsorship that had welcomed a family. I had never heard of the programme but I thought that’s such a brilliant idea."
Ann, who lives in Dundrum but grew up in Rathfarnham, reached out to Rory O’Neill of the Irish Refugee Council who guided her through how she could make her dream a reality.
She added: "I knew one or two people I thought might be interested and they knew some other folk. So we’re a group of ten now. It’s kind of spread by word-of-mouth since we launched."
For Ann, who had only done some volunteering in the past, setting up a community sponsorship group was daunting but the feedback was "phenomenal".
"It’s been overwhelming with people’s generosity and interest in the programme. We had our first meeting in my house back in October 2022.
"I knew it was going to go really well because there was such enthusiasm and such commitment from the group. I must say the support of the Irish Refugee Council has been amazing because they provide us with a lot of training which and structure.
"We have a teacher in the group, we have a communications professional, we have a property manager, we’ve a couple of lawyers one of whom is interested in immigration. We have a broad range of skills.
"We have two people in the group who have moved to Ireland. One of them came from Morocco 19 years ago. Having that insight gives you a really good perspective. She recalls the importance of having people who can help introduce you to the supports in the community.
"One of the other girls came here from the US a couple of years ago so again the challenges of navigating the system here by herself was something that’s very fresh in her mind."
So far DARA has raised over half of its €20,000 goal but there is still plenty to be done.
Ann said they're currently looking for a "benevolent landlord" who will be willing to lease out a property for the family.
She added: "The family will be eligible for the housing assistance payment so that should cover most of the rent. The issue would be we can’t go out to the commercial market and find a property.
"Even if the rent would cover it, there would be a period between us finding the house and the family arriving. It could be a period of months."
The funds will also go towards helping to integrate the family into the community for the first 18 months with the idea being the family can be independent after that.
She said: "So depending on the size of the property we get, that would potentially inform the Irish Refugee Council as to what size family it would be suitable for.
"My expectation is we will be introduced to the family before they arrive but it might be as little as one phone call and then they arrive."
You can donate here to help DARA with their cause.
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