Potential deep within people will be brought out with the right opportunities and support. That was the message from Sabrina Whelan at a recent conference on the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP).
Now a community engagement worker with the County Kildare LEADER Partnership Sabrina says that how she ended up there shows the value of SICAP and of nourishing people’s possibilities.
After growing up in a loving family Sabrina became a mother herself at a young age.
“I’ve been married to my husband for the last 20 years, we have two beautiful daughters. I became a mother when I left school at 18 after completing my Leaving Cert. I was very young and it shaped me to be the person that I am today. It was the first time in my life that I experienced stigma, the stigmatisation that comes with being a young parent. But it gave me determination to succeed. To work hard, to give it my all and to prove people wrong; just because you are a young mother doesn’t mean you can’t develop.”
Volunteering
With a baby to mind, thoughts of third level education went on the back burner, but six years ago she started to become active in her community, a decision that changed her life in ways she would never have imagined.
“In 2019 I decided to begin volunteering and I started with a new local women’s group being set up in North West Kildare. That choice opened up a new chapter in my life. Around the same time SICAP was introduced into my life. I met the local community development worker Linda Walsh who was supporting the group with a committee set up, a constitution, provision of workshops and the empowerment of the women living in North West Kildare. To my surprise, in my second week, I found myself becoming secretary of the group.
“If you enlist then you soldier, that was what I was always taught. It was completely out of character for me but week after week we showed up. And looking back now I realise that simple decision not only gave me purpose, but also encouragement and friendship and a sense of belonging that I hadn’t even noticed was missing.”
She feels that the group provided an important outlet for a lot of women.
“North West Kildare is quite a rural area with poor transport links. The women who attended spent their lives at home raising their families, their husbands were out working, the families were raised now, and what do you do? They found themselves a little bit lost. This group has been a lifeline for so many people. It celebrated its sixth birthday on November 3 and it has grown now to approximately 50 women who meet once a week. It’s going strong and I’m immensely proud that they’ve carried on even though I’ve stepped away.”
Education
Getting back into education wasn’t on her horizon at all, until suddenly it was.
“I was not aware of adult education. I didn’t think that I’d be eligible to go back to college or that there was an opportunity for someone like me. In 2020, County Kildare LEADER Partnership in association with NUI Maynooth were offering a certificate in community development and leadership. I was asked if I wanted to interview for a place on this course. I did the interview and I got my place.”
Nonetheless, she was a little uncomfortable talking about what she was about to embark on.
“My husband and my kids knew but I didn’t tell my parents because I thought they might think that I had notions. Who did I think I was going off to Maynooth? I never got to Maynooth because Covid struck and it was all online!” she laughed.
While it was supposed to be one cert, she ended up studying until this year, picking up a degree and other valuable qualifications and experience on the way.
“I had incredible support from CKLP (County Kildare LEADER Partnership) and Sinead Bashir, our community education and support worker,” Sabrina commented.
Those who worked with her helped transform her life, she feels.
“To see the transformation, I don’t even recognise myself now from the person I was in 2020. I couldn’t work a computer, couldn’t use Zoom, I didn’t know what Zoom was. I didn’t realise the technology involved, but the empowerment they gave me and the confidence to stand up and do this, to show my daughters I could do this…”
Working
Improving her education and her level of activity in the community were huge steps, but there was even more.
“In September of 2023 I started working full time with County Kildare LEADER Partnership as a community engagement worker. It’s incredible. It baffles me that I can stand here and say that I work with the people who encouraged me and came out and saw that spark in me that I didn’t see in myself.”
She loves the job, and the chance to help people as she was once helped.
“It’s a privilege that I have that role to support people and build capacity in communities, strengthening their approach and most importantly developing their self belief. It’s a privilege to go in and work within communities to identify those people and show them that it is possible, we can do this, our journeys can change significantly.”
Looking back on the last few years, she is delighted with the support that was there for her. “I had incredible support to become a community engagement worker through SICAP. I have incredible guidance from both County Kildare LEADER Partnership and our colleagues in Kildare County Council. I really was very lucky in my journey.”
SICAP has really played a huge role in changing her life for the better.
“Behind every success is a web of support, be it family, be it friends, community, or in my case the valuable help of SICAP. It was more than a programme for me, it was a lifeline when I didn’t know I needed one. It empowered me and it continues to empower people to take the next step, to believe in themselves and to see the possibilities where once there were barriers. It invests in people and by doing so it strengthens entire communities.”
It is important to remember that with the right backing people can do a lot more than might seem possible, she added.
“I want to share a final thought; I strongly believe that every community and individual you meet has potential. Sometimes all it takes is a word of encouragement or a spark or a volunteering opportunity to get the right programme of support to unlock the potential that is simmering away beneath the surface. For me volunteering lit that spark but SICAP gave me the tools and the belief to turn it into a flame.”
“Believe in people, invest in community and never underestimate the power of support. Through kindness, care, compassion and programmes like SICAP ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things.”
