We work with young blind and partially sighted people to increase their independence, confidence and life skills through a range of programmes, activities and events.
Residentials
We run a series of residentials for young people at the Share centre, Lisnaskea, County Fermanagh and Greenhill YMCA in Newcastle, County Down. These involve outdoor activities like:
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Wall climbing
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Kayaking
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Sailing
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High ropes course
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Bouldering
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Archery
Our residentials may also include workshops on:
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Drug and alcohol awareness
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Confidence and assertiveness
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Global youth work.
Places on these residentials are given on a first come first served basis, so please book early to avoid disappointment.
A £20 deposit will be required to book a place but it is refunded after the event.
Duke of Edinburgh Award
We work in partnership with the
Belfast Activity Centre to enable young people with sight loss to participate in the Duke of Edinburgh Award challenge.
In August 2011, a group successfully completed their Gold and Silver awards by way of a cycle expedition in the Netherlands.
If you want to take part next time, contact our Youth Development Officer,
Niall Dempsey.
Day Events and Family events
We also hold day events for young people including activities like go Karting and paintballing as well as events for the whole family like Zorbing and BBQ's. These events are advertised as and when they are booked so if you would like to be informed about them please contact Niall (Youth Development Officer) to have your details added to our list.
Local Sports Clubs and Partnerships
We want to help young people who are blind or partially sighted get involved in the sport or recreational activity of their choice. We are happy to deliver visual awareness training to any club or organisation that feels it would be useful.
RNIB NI has a strong partnership with Disability Sport NI and in particular their Active Communities programme where they have a network of coaches throughout NI who offer coaching to blind and partially sighted people. We have also set up a body called Blind Sports NI with reps from the various sports clubs for people with sight loss.
Partially Sighted Football
RNIB NI, with its partner organisation The Irish Football Association (IFA), runs a partially sighted football club in Lisburn with a section for children (8-15) and adults (16+).
The Lisburn club plays at the Laganvalley Leisureplex, Lisburn on Saturday mornings with juniors playing from 10.00am-11.00am and seniors from 11.00am-12.00pm.
All sessions are coached by qualified IFA coaches.
Contact your local RNIB NI office and find out what's happening in your area.
Contact Us
If you would like any more information on RNIB NI's Youth Service, please contact Niall Dempsey (RNIB NI Youth Development Officer):
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tel: 028 9033 4129 or 078 1384 5209
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email childrenyouthni@rnib.org.uk
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write to RNIB Northern Ireland, 40 Linenhall Street, Belfast, BT2 8BA
Visit the Latest Events page of our website to find out what's coming up round Northern Ireland.
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