Prior to the Covid 19 Pandemic The Cuisle Centre provided a wide range of services and courses designed to support whole-person health in its many dimensions – physical, mental, spiritual and social. The Cuisle Centre offers classes to help you make healthy lifestyle choices, outdoor programs, group activities for adults and children, and one to one counselling services.
We enjoyed regular activities, such as, Vegetarian Cookery Classes, Parent and Toddler Group, Senior’s Club, Knit and Knatter, Free Health Checks and much more. The Cuisle Centre was living up to the name that it was given – Cuisle – meaning “pulse” in Irish. We aimed to be the pulse in the Ranelagh Community, providing a place where people could find Health, Hope and Happiness.
News of a Lockdown in Ireland due to the Covid 19 Pandemic has meant that our doors have had to remain closed for most of the last 14 months. In this time we have kept in contact with our regular attendees to the Centre, we have produced online Vegetarian Cookery Classes, Online Fitness Classes and also ‘Cocoon Packs’ and ‘Senior Club Packs’ have been delivered to houses of people who attended Senior’s Club.
Prior to Christmas the Centre was able to open for a ‘Drop in’ service, where people could call in for a hot drink and a chat, this was a great time where we were able to meet up again with regular contacts and meet with new people. It was so lovely to see some of the mums/child minders and children (who were now bigger and chattier) expressing an excitement for when we could start the Toddler group again. Everyone who attended in this time spoke of how much they missed the activities, the friendships and the comfort they got from attending Cuisle. One lady who attended a few different activities sent me a text message saying that she had watched an online Service in Ranelagh and really enjoyed the message she had heard and that she would watch again.
This has been a difficult time for the Centre as what we do is based on building ‘in person’ relationships, it has been a challenge engaging with people online and also there was a reluctance for people to attend the Centre when it re-opened in November because of the fear of the ongoing pandemic. We look forward to reopening the Centre again in June for ‘Drop in’ services and plans are in place to return to full services once restrictions allow. Please pray for Cuisle as we move forward in 2021.
