Dundrum & Rathfarnham Area Community Sponsorship

Welcome to DARA, the Dundrum and Rathfarnham Area Community Sponsorship group.

 

We are a voluntary group of local residents who have come together to welcome a refugee family to our area.

 

With the approval of the Irish Refugee Protection Programme and guidance from the Irish Refugee Council, we plan to welcome a family that has been granted UN refugee status into the Dundrum-Rathfarnham area and support them in settling into our community.

 

However, prior to the arrival of our family, we need to fundraise. We have set a target of €20,000; the funds will be used to support the family's holistic integration in Ireland during their first two years of living here.  Any remaining funds after the two-year period will be offered directly to the family to support their new life and to spend as they wish. In the event the family does not take up this offer, the remaining funds will be donated to a registered charity that supports refugee integration in Ireland. Please note we are not a charity.  For any queries on this matter, please visit our website (https://daracsgroup.mystrikingly.com) for our contact details.

 

We kicked-off our fundraising efforts with our Dip for DARA on Saturday 29th January 2022. Members of the DARA Community Sponsorship committee braved the icy wintry waters of the Irish Sea for a fundraising dip on Killiney beach (in fairness, it would be a stretch to call it a ‘swim’!). We continue to greatly appreciate any donation big or small that you can give the Dip for DARA, our inaugural fundraising event.

Keep an eye out for updates on our fundraising page for news on upcoming fundraising events, or visit https://daracsgroup.mystrikingly.com to learn more about us.

 

About Community Sponsorship

Community Sponsorship originated in Canada in the 1970s and is now a thriving initiative in many countries helping newly arrived refugees to settle into their new community. Through Community Sponsorship projects like ours, refugees who are fleeing conflict and persecution are brought to a safe and secure country like Ireland, where they are fully supported by the local community. We are really excited to bring together the community - our neighbours, friends, local businesses and organisations - to help us achieve our goal, and we would be grateful for your support in reaching our target €20,000.

 

DARA Community Sponsorship Group

(Ann Kelleher, Susanna Lane, Carla Kayanan, Ciara Kennedy, Donal Hyland, Eddie Bohan, Kerry Houlihan, Lamia Chakir Alaoui, Liz Daly, Máire Twomey and Muireann Cody)