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Summer 2005: Proud to be Irish
Reading the headline of this article you might think or wonder who is this arrogant Irish person? But no I am not Irish; I am a black man, born in the former Dutch colony Suriname in South America. I have been living in Limerick for two years.

I worked and lived for more than thirty years in the Netherlands. Myself and my partner, who is from Limerick, decided it was time to return to the roots in Ireland.

I have been working for Bóthar for the past three months and I now realise the generosity of Irish people that my partner had always talked about. Caring and sharing was always the bottom line. Working in an environment where people care for each other is amazing. From a small donation to a huge donation the reactions from colleagues are always enormous. Every gift is received with the same thankfulness as it is generously given. Irish people do share, "they don't sit on their money" (Dutch expression). I wish that more people in the world would realise how important it is to care and share.

"What would I do if I did not have you" (an African American expression). I am still asking myself why more people are not like Irish people. I just don't know. The one thing that I do know for sure is that it feels good to be here in Ireland and that you should be proud to be Irish.

Roy Caupain joined Bóthar in October 2004 having worked in Amsterdam for 30 years in Local Government as a personnel director. Roy brought a wealth of experience to help the development of our young and vibrant organisation.

The Bó Vine Summer 2005