Category Eight: Community Resilience
Winner: KASI, Killarney, Co Kerry
Summary:
KASI, Killarney Immigrant Support Centre, is based in Killarney, Co. Kerry. Their works evolved from providing information, support and services to new communities to setting up social enterprises to extend their charitable activities. KASI has a community garden, where integration happens in an ‘organic’ manner through informal interaction between and amongst people from various cultural background including Irish, where they exchange and share gardening skills, stories, cultures and food. KASI also provides healthy and affordable hot lunches to four schools in Killarney, where they used vegetables grown from their own community garden. This project also creates employment to new communities through training, placement and employment in the project itself. In October 2020, KASI opened up a Café and a Zero Waste/Refill Store right in the middle of the town. This new venture while providing services to the people of Killarney, also addresses social, economic and environmental issues. In essence KASI stands for diversity, sustainability, friendliness, environmental awareness, and integration.
Group Contact: Liz O’Donnel
Citation:
The judges were immediately impressed when they realised the outstanding and growing reputation of this group within the community. From small origins the organisation has grown in strength over the years to now provide a vast array of services to asylum seekers, refugees and other migrants.
