Gore Foundation makes a difference in the lives of Rose Town residents

As the Rose Town Construction Internship Programme comes to a close for the 2021-2022 year, the Gore Family Foundation (GFF) says it is heartened to have had the opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the lives of at-risk youth from the Rose Town community.

Christine Gore, one of the founders of the GFF and the main conceptualiser of this project, says that it has been “challenging in every way” but that she “can’t imagine anything that she would rather be involved in”.

“The programme has looked to support our interns not just academically and professionally, but in every aspect of their lives. From personally accompanying interns to doctors’ visits when they are not well, to offering them counselling to help them cope with and manage trauma, to taking them on field trips to Emancipation Park, Hollywell, and Hope Gardens, and giving each intern my personal cell phone number to call or message me if they need me, we have taken these youth under our wings and they have become a part of the Gore family.”

Ruth Jankee, executive director of the Rose Town Foundation, echoed Gore’s sentiments. “For these interns, this has been so much more than a construction programme. The support from the GFF team has been all-encompassing. Interns from the north and south of Rose Town, historically warring factions of the community, having the opportunity to work together, support each other, and help each other to succeed in the programme, has not only benefited them in their own personal lives but has also had a positive effect on the wider community.”

The interns have now moved on from taking online courses through Alison and Open University and are excited to be putting some of the coursework done in the programme into practice as they build a community centre on Gore Developments Limited’s Phoenix Park site. The interns are invested in the skills that they are learning, as they see the benefit of developing these skills and the potential to use them in the future after the internship has concluded. One intern recently stated that he was enjoying working on-site because he now feels that he can build his own house in the future.’