Courtney McGrailSarah Langan describes the work of the Meitheal youth peer ministry programme
I wanted to start this article with a sentence or two describing the essence of Meitheal and what it is about. After a few attempts, I realised it is quite difficult to do the programme any justice in a couple of sentences.
From the outside, Meitheal is a youth leadership programme which gives groups of sixth year students the skills and knowledge to go back and help first year students in their schools. However, for the students who take part in the programme and the leaders who volunteer to train these groups, Meitheal means so much more than that and has become a big part of our lives.
A team of 10 students is chosen for each school’s Meitheal team in the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin. Every year, there are four weeks of training in the De La Salle monastery in Castletown. Five or six groups come each week for training.
The week is made up of a wide variety of activities including small group work, large group activities, liturgies and entertainment in the evenings. In September, the students go to their schools and begin their work with the first years.
The groups are invited back to Castletown for a further training weekend during the year to reflect on their work and plan for the rest of the year.
My experiences of being a Meitheal leader in my secondary school and now as a volunteer have all been extremely positive.
When I was first interviewed to be in the Meitheal team for my school, I was very nervous. Although I didn’t entirely know what the programme entailed, I knew that it was going to be something completely different than anything I had done before.
Something special
When I heard others talking about it, they couldn’t help but smile and I could tell that it was something special. I was over the moon when I got chosen.
The week spent in Castletown was unforgettable, to say the least. Students are asked not to tell the younger years in their school what happens throughout the week, so it will be a surprise.
My group and I headed to Castletown with no idea what we had ahead of us. It was just as well because, had I known about the exciting activities, new friendships and dedicated leaders I was going to be met with, I wouldn’t have slept with excitement (and you need all the energy you can get for a week of Meitheal)!
After the first night of activities with the other groups, I felt at home. As the week went on, we grew into a strong team who worked well together and had made new friends from other schools in the process.
One of the key messages I got from Meitheal as a student was that everyone had a part to play and something important to offer. I had never before been in a place where everyone felt so comfortable being themselves.
While we were there, not only were we accepted for being different, but celebrated for our differences. We learned that the unique things we all bring are what make our group stronger.
Our role as Meitheal leaders in our school was first and foremost to be a support for the first years to ease the transition from primary to secondary school. Throughout the year we also organised many events to make the year as enjoyable as possible for the first years. By the end of the year, I was proud of our hard work but I couldn’t help but feel sad that Meitheal was coming to an end – I knew then that I had to continue my Meitheal journey.
I took part in leader training in early 2014 and, that June, I walked back through those gates in Castletown and all the wonderful memories came rushing back. Although I was there with a whole new group of people, they welcomed me with open arms. And so the week began and 50 students came through the door with the same apprehensive look in their eyes that I had.
It was strange for me to be a person who these young people would look to as a role model, but wonderful at the same time.
I took the responsibility very seriously and that is why Meitheal brings out the absolute best of me. I spent the week celebrating extraordinary things I saw in each of those students, and it wasn’t a difficult task to see their hearts of gold. From the students arriving on the Sunday evening to leaving on the Friday morning, we saw them blossom before our eyes and I feel that it is a privilege to be able to be a part of that process.
When I first got chosen to be a part of Meitheal, I was so excited and I didn’t know why, but now I do – I know how lucky I am to have been given the chance to be a part of this community of people who have the ability to be their best selves, the generosity to work hard for others and the confidence to make a difference.