I stand outside Providence House and a constant stream of cars is flowing past. People are scurrying hither and thither, and there is the continual hum of urban sounds. Above it all stand the high blocks of the Falcons Estate, like great masts in this ship of concrete. That’s where we have taken these young people from, and what a contrast! Standing on the deck, holding onto the rigging as the ship sways from side to side on the swell of the sea, and nothing as far as eye can see, but water and sky, and not a sound but the wind and the lapping of the water, and the creak of the ship. There could not be a greater contrast for these young urban kids, and although they may not yet articulate it, it forms part of an experience they will not forget, and may well lead them onto further challenges to come.
Robert Musgrave MBE
Director of Youth and Community Work
Providence House
August 2015