Belfast Islamic Centre reaches new heights at Belfast Activity Centre!!

On Wednesday 30 ^th June Belfast Islamic Centre, reached new heights by having a rocking experience on the climbing wall at Belfast Activity Centre (www.belfastactivitycentre.com). This was just one of the exciting outdoor activity sessions that the group have taken part in over the last couple of weeks. Other activities included exploring 200 meters of man made cave also at Belfast Activity Centre, a session of canoeing at Shaws bridge and a series of team games at Barnett’s Demesne.

These outdoor activity ‘taster sessions’ have been put in place by the Venture Outdoors - Creating Healthy Communities project with the aim to help those from disabled, minority ethnic and disadvantaged communities all over Northern Ireland to access the outdoors, encourage them to take part in outdoor activities and also learn about where they can get involved in outdoor activities in their local area.

 Offering the taster sessions is the first step to achieving this goal. The Belfast Islamic Centre was established in 1978 and its aim is to meet the needs of the growing Islamic community in Northern Ireland. The centre not only acts as a place of worship but is also a community centre, social-cultural centre, resource centre, advice centre and a day centre.   The Belfast Islamic Centre is only 1 of 40 groups across Northern Ireland receiving these taster sessions with Venture Outdoors. Sharon Donnelly, Venture Outdoors Development Officer, commented that; “This is a fantastic opportunity for the group to enjoy getting outdoors and help in terms of raising awareness of all outdoor activities that are available within their locality.”

Maeve Curran, Venture Outdoors Marketing Officer, highlighted, “CAAN has great hopes for the ‘Venture Outdoors – creating healthy communities’ project and the role it will play in engaging with disabled, minority ethnic and disadvantaged communities in outdoor recreation.”

The Venture Outdoors Project is a 3 year initiative of the Countryside Access and Activities Network and has been provided with a grant of £470,000 from the Big Lottery Fund’s Reaching Communities Programme and Ulster Gardens Villages.

 For more information on the Venture Outdoors – Creating Healthy Communities Project contact Maeve Curran 02890 303 930 maeve@countrysiderecreation.com.