Olympic spirit was alive and well in Forth Valley College last week when Kathleen Gaughan from the Olympic Refugee Foundation (ORF), beamed in from Lausanne, Switzerland, to talk with students from the HNC and NC Working with Communities courses.
Having recently addressed the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Kathleen (pictured here top left in green giving a Teams presentation to the students) brought a great deal of knowledge and experience of global community work to share with the students.
The ORF works with countries from across the globe to support people who have been displaced from their own countries. Through sport and community work they aim to create a safe and secure environment that gives displaced people some stability and positive life experiences. With projects ranging from Columbia to Bangladesh and many others in between, Kathleen spoke about the challenges faced in working in so many countries with different cultures.
Lecturer Stewart Ritchie from Care, Sport, Business and Communities said “It was great that Kathleen could fit the students into her schedule. She inspired and motivated them by showing them the difference one person can make
“Kathleen also spoke about projects she had worked on that were closer to home. One such project is the ‘Big Noise’ in Stirling. It was interesting to hear about this project and great to hear that one of the students present on the day, had personal experience of involvement. Deane Gibb had two children, who through the ‘Big Noise’ project, had the opportunity to visit Venezuela which was a tremendous experience that helped build their confidence and opened their eyes to wider opportunities. This just shows the impact that community projects can have on people within communities.”
If you would like to know more about the ORF then click the link here.