Uli Schrettenbrunner who is organizing ‘After the Rain’ in association with Axis says:
There are certain things and events in my life that have informed and influenced my choice to organize ‘After the Rain’, which I’d like to share here:
I work as an Arts in Health Practitioner at two Dublin hospitals. Both hospitals are part of the Hospice friendly Hospitals Programme (HfH) which has been developed by the Irish Hospice Foundation (IHF). In my work I experience first hand the positive and transforming effects the HfH programme has. Over the past year I have attended several IHF workshops which have added sensitivity and competence to my work.
We all experience loss at some point in our lives. Personally I have had two major losses in my life so far. My journey through bereavement has been pretty rough, and yet it has also been transformative for both myself and my life. With time having passed on a new found sense of peace has emerged within myself. I feel ready and able to get up and do something that can make a difference. For me it is a way to give something back and to turn a very devastating and heart breaking experience into something positive, constructive and inspiring.
A vital stepping stone towards organizing this event was my participation in June of this year in the ‘Self Expression and Leadership Programme’ with Landmark Education. With the main aim being transformation, this course gave me the tools to come up with, design and run a community project. My project became: ‘After the rain’. I hope that by supporting the IHF I can make a difference in this world and ensure that other people get the support they need.
I also would like to say a few things about the Irish Hospice Foundation. Their vision is a society where no one should have to face death or bereavement without appropriate care and support. The IHF has developed several programmes and education tools to fulfill on this vision. In my opinion and from what I have observed they are doing an incredible job. They deliver their promise with a high level of integrity and in an very efficient way working with and reaching out on an individual, communal and national level.
Organizing this event has been an incredible experience. It’s been exciting, challenging, overwhelming, rewarding. I got to see aspects and qualities about myself I didn’t know I had or didn’t think I could have. It especially impacts on and touches me deeply in my heart generating a genuine enthusiasm, which turns out to be an incredible driving force to make things happen and cause positive changes in the world we live in starting at my own doorstep.
It has been a privilege to meet and work with so many talented and well spirited people who for their own reasons chose and agreed to support ‘After the Rain’ and are generously donating their time and skills to do so.
I can’t stress enough the importance of the IHF, their vision and their fantastic work and I thank everybody for their contribution towards making ‘After the Rain’ happen.