Funding boost has big impact on IWA in Athlone

Service users of The Irish Wheelchair Association in Athlone have been facilitated in engaging with online services thanks to a funding allocation late last year from the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science

The announcement of the Mitigating Against Educational Disadvantage Fund (MAEDF) by Minister Simon Harris last November was a most welcome financial boost for community education providers across the country. The department established the fund to assist community and voluntary groups whose educational activities had been hampered by Covid-19.

The Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA) in Athlone and Mullingar were both successful in their applications for funding under the MAEDF, when they were awarded €4,575 for Athlone and €3.970 for Mullingar. The money was spent on laptops, tablets, scanners, a camera, headsets, software and accessories. The laptops and tablets will be loaned out to their service users.

Prior to the MAEDF, the two resource centres had been availing of supports from Longford and Westmeath Education & Training Board’s (LWETB) Community Education Service for classes in gardening, art, IT, woodwork, Tai Chi and mindfulness. Many of their classes had either been stopped during the Levels 3 and 5 restrictions, or they were operating on a reduced capacity with only a limited number of service users attending day services.

The timing of the MAEDF was perfect as it coincided with the IWA’s plans to engage with their service users remotely. They had already tried out virtual classes, online quizzes, bingo and a book club, Pilates on Zoom and such platforms. They were aware that LWETB were upskilling their tutors in online teaching via Microsoft Teams, and that the deficit was their shortage of portable IT equipment.

No time like the present

Not only is the IT equipment already in use for a joint art class with a teacher from LWETB, but the service users are using it for online shopping, paying bills and, most importantly in keeping contact with family and friends via Zoom and Skype.

Monica Hughes, Manager of the IWA Resource Centre, Clonbrusk, Athlone said: “Staff and service users have noted that participation in classes with the ETB via the new digital equipment is only part of the positive impact of the funding. The fact that our service users can keep in touch with their family and friends is an added bonus.”

She added: “When we get back to our usual in-house services we will continue to use digital technology to include service users who are still at home or who want to do additional activities in their own time. This all helps people live independently.”

What do the learners think?

Mia Samovich is really enjoying the Zoom art class. She said: ‘I am a creative person, yet I have not had the opportunity to take part in art classes. Thank you to all involved in supplying the laptops and allowing me to be part of this wonderful project. I have been painting every day since and it is good exercise for my hands cutting out the various shapes required in one of the exercises.”

Mary Gaynor, a service user in Athlone said: “I am delighted to be able to participate in the Zoom art class as I have always had a keen interest in art. Last year was tough for me and I have been a bit down on occasion like so many other people. The classes have given me a reason to get up in the morning and has really lifted my spirits.”

Rita Flaherty, who has been able to do the art class from the resource centre, has had no problems following the online class and has already started making her own cards. With the assistance of Maureen Lee, the IWA’s Young Adult Support Worker, service users of all ages have been included in the classes, which shows that with proper resources all kinds of barriers can be broken down.

What’s next for Athlone IWA and its service users?

The MAEDF has transformed the lives of IWA service users in Westmeath and has facilitated the development and expansion of LWETB’s Community Education Service’s suite of blended and online learning options. It has already reduced educational disadvantage, isolation, and the so-called digital divide, and has meant that 2021 was greeted with hope and expectation, rather than doom and gloom.

Personal development through mindfulness, chair-yoga, poetry and herbalism starts in February, and once Spring fully kicks in, it will be time for some online gardening!