The Deputy Lord Mayor, Cllr Kyle Savage was delighted to call into a night of inspiration and enlightenment at Millennium Court on Tuesday 9th of July where he was introduced to a fantastic group of young people from the Ulster Project Delaware.
This exchange project sees a group of 18 Catholic and Protestant teenagers from the Portadown area visit Delaware USA for a month and then plays host to their American friends the following year .
This project began in 1976 and promotes leadership, service and peace as its core aims.
Throughout the month of July, Northern Irish teens are hosted by American families with teens of the same age and gender, who also participate in daily activities ranging from day trips to Washington DC and Hershey Park to family picnics, multicultural services and volunteering events.
During the evening, the Deputy Lord Mayor was delighted to meet participants past and present.
Martin Donnelly who took part in 1982, quipped that he met his wife Catherine on the project and the friendship formed with his American host, Tom Higley, remains as strong today.
Catherine added that her host, Mrs Sweeney, had visited her as recently as a few weeks ago in Portadown.
Given his farming background, Mr Savage was intrigued to hear how American teen Safiya Houston had visited a local farm and learned to drive a tractor, milk cows and even parade Balmoral Show winning cattle!
This project enhances the lives of our young people and their families, it encourages cultural respect and cooperation which can only be good for future generations.
