Ode to Bridging The Gap

I have wanted to write a blog about this most amazing organisation all year long and have many pictures to put up with it. So I thought it would be fitting to write it today considering today was the last BIG Thursday drop in session and my first goodbye of this year.

I know I must have said this a thousand times but I cannot believe how fast this year has gone. It is almost the summer holidays which means that a lot of the programs put on by the different organisations I work with are coming to an end. Over the last 9 1/2 months I have worked with Bridging the Gap for most of each week. I have had the pleasure of being involved in their Baby and Toddler groups, their weekly BIG Thursday drop in, a little bit of the High Rise Bakers, and the school transitions, along with other one off events.

I cannot explain in words how grateful I am to this organisation and all the people who work and volunteer for it. The staff is extraordinary, they care about each and every person, make everyone feel welcome, and have the best humor. I remember on my first day, Tricia, the director was telling me about the project and introducing me to everyone and made me close my eyes and told me we were going to pray. She then made me get on the floor and hold an apple and pray with the apple. The rest of the office also got on the floor but they were all in on the joke. As I was about to say something foolish, meanwhile thinking "this is kind of weird," Tricia started laughing and told me it was a joke. For my first day, it was a great start to the year and since then there have been many more jokes that luckily I have known about previously.

I have loved my time getting to know all the kids and parents at the two toddler groups, and being on the kids team at the drop in. It is amazing how much a 1 year-old grows in just a year when you see them 3 times a week. I have loved seeing them learn to share, start to speak, walk, and become independent from their moms, dads, or carers. I have specifically liked hearing a few of the toddlers, specifically conor and zara learn to say my name, and finally after many months trust me and play with me. It gives me so much joy and they brighten my days every week.

For those of you who knew me before I started you knew that I hated crafting. I am not creative when it comes to artwork like drawing and painting and most crafty activities stress me out, so I had it coming when I found out that at all our groups we do lots of crafts and on the Thursday group I had to organize and help think of the ideas. But this year was about growing and being comfortable in the uncomfortable and I can truly say that after all this time, I had started to enjoy crafting. I have done some great activities with the kids, including rice art, ziplock bag painting, snow globe making, and lots of crazy scientist experiments. I have also learned that 2 year-olds are amused by the simplest things, you can give them shredded paper and they will laugh that hearty innocent contagious laugh that causes you to start laughing and not stop.

I have also loved getting to know all the volunteers and community members of the Gorbals through Bridging the Gap. Due to my involvement in multiple projects throughout the Gorbals I end up being at lots of different events. And the best compliment I could have gotten was from a woman who I normally see on a Tuesday who said"who actually employs you, because I see you everywhere." I was touched, because my aim of this year was to build relationships in my community, to try and understand the lives of the Gorbals people, and to be with them, to love them, to support them, to laugh with them, and to learn with them. I think my time here has been all of that and more thanks to all the people I have spent time with.

Through all the struggles of being in a new city, with new friends, missing old friends Bridging the Gap was my happy place. If I was having a bad day or a bad week, I knew there was someone at Bridging the Gap that would listen or make me laugh, and cheer me up and I was excited each and every day to go to work.

So thank you, Bridging the Gap. This year would not have been the same without you, and it will never be the same going forward. Thank you for challenging me, for loving me, for making me shine,  for cooking me some of the best authentic food from different cultures, and for being a fantastic organisation that this community is lucky to have!

Blessings,
Julie

Here is the link to their website and Facebook page in case anyone wants to check it out. And here are lots of pictures of the many activities I participated in. Thanks to Magda for most of the pictures, she is the photographer for Bridging the Gap and caught some wonderful moments.

Website: http://www.bridging-the-gap.org/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/btgglasgow

Playing with shredded paper

 Making a scarecrow

 Playing with slides and building blocks

 Snowmen!

 Singing time

 The day animal man came to visit

 Laughing because Viha was probably being the cutest dancer

 International Women's Day

 The coolest kids in town (pronounced toon)! Zara and Conor

 At our volunteer thank you dinner we got to enjoy delicious food, I tried Eritrean coffee, which has ginger in it, and we got certificates!

We also got to build a lego version of the BIG Thursday Drop in. It is extremely accurate. 

Here is the kitchen with the tea cups and in the second picture even the basket with the dirty dish towels and the baby gate

A bird's eye view of the kitchen and the adult area, with the ping pong table and the fruit lady, and Magda our photographer

There is me with the blue top and ponytail in the kids area. The blue and yellow legos are the mats and the slides, and there is animal man with a shark

Pictures from the Christmas Party, John and I in our Christmas sweaters. 

And finally, as I said, Magda capturing my truest joys of working with Bridging the Gap