🌱 The Early Days: 2021 and the Seeds of Trust

In 2021, we ran our first ever Mindful Transitions Peer Support Project, created to support young people navigating the challenging move from primary to post-primary education. It was designed with compassion, co-creation, and curiosity at its core — equipping students with emotional tools, peer support, and a greater sense of self-awareness during a time of vulnerability and change.

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It simply would not have happened without the early support and generosity of the Margaret Finley Trust, and especially Elaine and Ian Bailey — who not only donated but gave their time, presence, and encouragement by volunteering in our pilot workshops. That trust was the first domino. It validated the idea that a small, values-led organisation could have a big impact when people believed in the vision.

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That same year, the Margaret Finley Trust also supported the delivery of “Mindful Bridges” — a mindfulness and wellbeing programme for young adults with learning disabilities, delivered to participants at Stepping Stones NI. We were deeply moved when Elaine Bailey, as Director of the Trust, joined us on-site to volunteer. Her hands-on involvement was a powerful gesture of belief in inclusive wellbeing and human connection.

Later in 2021, we received funding from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, who backed our first creative programme: Sing What You Say — an arts and language initiative that used music, rhythm, and storytelling to build emotional vocabulary and intercultural empathy. This was also the beginning of our partnership with Beyond Skin, who co-delivered the programme with us. Their creativity, cultural sensitivity, and peacebuilding expertise helped shape a project that has now evolved into a long-standing collaboration across multiple initiatives.

We are also proud to work alongside ArtsEkta, whose work in cultural celebration and intercultural learning continues to enrich our projects. Their performances and participatory sessions have helped bring our shared education initiatives to life — and deepen the cross-community connections at the heart of everything we do.

That same year, the Margaret Finley Trust and Belfast Harbour jointly enabled us to launch Learn the Language, our first fully online cultural support programme designed to welcome newly arrived Ukrainian families. This programme supported over 200 adults and children on their English language journey — many of whom were navigating trauma, displacement, and the unknown. It became a meaningful entry point into our longer-term work in inclusion, belonging, and shared understanding.

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2021 was our year of firsts. First project. First funding. First partnerships. First families reached. It was a year rooted in courage — our own, and the people who stood beside us. We are forever grateful to the funders, schools, volunteers, and young people who believed in what we were trying to build before we had the proof.