JRS Ireland bids Arthur adieu

The 2008 JRS Ireland Summer Programme of activities for asylum-seeking families would have been impossible without the generous support of volunteers Arthur Bommier, Maria Garcia, Bart Parys, Tina Peji and Angeline Fanning. On 31 July, Arthur Bommier (19) will return to France after a month of volunteering with JRS Ireland. He will start university in Paris in the autumn. He heard about the work of JRS Ireland through Sebastian Vaast SJ, who volunteered with the JRS Community Links project during 2005.

Arthur’s work has not been just limited to the Summer Programme; he also had time to rub shoulders with the Minister for Integration. Thanks to the generosity of Tony O’Riordan SJ, Peter McVerry SJ and Frank Brady SJ, he has been residing in the Pedro Arrupe Community in 127 Shangan Road, Ballymun during his stay. Each of them has helped him gain a unique insight into other pressing social challenges that face Irish society.

“Through his diligence, cheerfulness and openness,” says Eugene Quinn, director of JRS Ireland, “Arthur has made a lasting impression on all whom he has worked with and on behalf of during his time with JRS Ireland. We bid Arthur a fond adieu and bonne chance in his studies and future career.”