A Little About Me by Lisa O’Leary

Hi my name is Lisa.

I am a member of the Traveller Community. I did not go to school when I was a child because we moved from place to place travelling in our trailer, because we had no place to stay. For that reason, we could not go to school. Then we were made get off the road and forced into houses leaving behind our traditions. This made our community very unhappy as all we knew was our traditional life on the road.

My family and I lived in Fryent Way, London in the UK in 1986. The conditions were very poor. 400 travellers lived here until the day the police and the council came and evicted everyone. It was all on the news at the time. 30 families were allowed to return when the new site was made and finalised. We were one of the 30 families allowed to stay.

I was never enrolled as a child in school. A teacher came to the site to teach us once a week but that stopped after a while. Every family had at least 7 children that time, there were too many children to teach and there was only one teacher. He was preparing us to make our Holy Communion but he left before we had made it. My mother ended up bringing all five members of my family on the public bus to the priest’s house to prepare us for our holy communion.

The conditions in the 1980’s were terrible. There was poverty, poor sanitation and no fire safety either. Some sites in Ireland are still as bad today; nothing has changed apart from education. Children and adults have better access to education nowadays. Some travellers and their children still find it hard to adjust to the school curriculum. Parents and grandparents have had very little or no education. Due to poor housing and discrimination, it is very hard for them and because of a lack of opportunity in the workplace, they find it hard to get jobs.

All of my children went to local schools, I encouraged their education because I never got it! Both of my boys worked hard in school and got a bursary to Belvedere College S.J. They both love it and mix very well with everybody. They have lots of opportunities open to them now!

Worksheet Close Exercise: A Little About Me

Fill in the missing words

traditional

allowed

sanitation

opportunity

evicted

trailer

school

Communion

member

forced

enrolled

education

encouraged

Worksheet Close Exercise: A Little About Me

Hi my name is Lisa.

I am a ___________________of the Traveller Community. I did not go to _______________when I was a child because we moved from place to place travelling in our________________, because we had no place to stay. For that reason, we could not go to school. Then we were made get off the road and _____________into houses leaving behind our traditions. This made our community very unhappy as all we knew this was our _________________ life on the road.

My family and I lived in Fryent way London, UK 1986. The conditions were very poor. 400 travellers lived here until the day the police and the council came and ________________everyone.

It was all on the news at the time. 30 families were ___________________to return until the new site was made and finalised. We were one of the 30 families allowed to stay.

I was never _________________as a child in______________. A teacher came to the site to teach us once a week but that stop after a while. Every family had at least 7 children that time, there were too many children to teach and there was only one teacher. He was preparing us to make our Holy _________________but he left before we had made it. My mother ended up bringing all five members of my family on the public bus to the priest’s house to prepare us for our holy communion.

The conditions in the 1980’s was terrible. There was poverty, poor conditions and no fire safety either. Some sites in Ireland are still as bad today; nothing has changed apart from education. Children and adults have better access to __________________nowadays. Some travellers and their children still find it hard to adjust to the school curriculum. Parents and grandparents have had very little or no education. Due to poor housing and discrimination, it is very hard for them and because of a lack of ____________________in the workplace; they find it hard to get jobs.

All of my children went to local schools, I __________________ their education because I never got it! Both of my boys worked hard in school and got a bursary to Belvedere College S.J. They both love it and mix very well with everybody. They have lots of opportunities open to them now!

Worksheet Wordsearch: A Little About Me

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