Another Romance Academy
JIMS and Kingdom seniors entered into another Romance Academy this spring. The youth participated in discussions, games, competitions, and more. Overall, they reported it was great fun, education, and challenging.
Many of the youth expected to talk about love, life, and pursuit of happiness – all in the context of relationships. While we did this, we also challenged what the media teaches us, why we are not learning about issues in school, and the importance of forming our own opinions early on. In the end, some stated that RA reinforced what they thought and practiced already – while others claimed they will consider a different lifestyle.
One of the favorite evenings for all involved creating fashion outfits that were modest. The goal was to encourage youth to think about what they wear…what signals they send to the opposite gender…and their own personal identity. The two teams created completely different items of clothing…congrats to Paddy’s team for winning the competition (they enjoyed sweets at our finale).
To conclude RA, we traveled out of Kilkeel…we hit the Diamonds for an amazing dinner (and birthday celebration for Conor). Afterwards, we watched Water for Elephants…thanks to a few extra spaces in the bus we were able to have some new faces join in the fun.
Thanks goes to International Fund for Ireland – they made the whole programme possible.