Blog 1 2010 - Welcome back!

Hi guys

Happy New Year! I can’t believe it’s 2010. Where did the last ten years go? It doesn’t seem like ten years since I was down in Kilkenny in Langtons on the eve of the millennium, ringing in the New Year!

I had a great Christmas break, and the two weeks off did me the power of good. It was so nice just being able to chill out and relax, and spend time with baby Donagh and be mentally as well as physically present for him. I found last year that my head would be reeling with ‘To Do’ lists and worries about our funding for the charity while I was feeding him or cuddling him, so although I was physically there for him, my head was completely elsewhere for much of the time.

So one of my resolutions is to chill out a bit about the charity. With Irish Aid giving us no funding in 2009, I spent a lot of the last six months being very worried about the charity, and working crazy hours. As soon as he would fall asleep in the afternoons, I’d rush into the office and start working frantically, and likewise once he went down for the night, I’d be back in the office. I was extremely tired all the time as a result, and at times very over-wrought, from exhaustion as much as anything else. The Christmas break has made me realise that I can only do my best, and working myself into the ground and having no headspace for anyone or anything, including my baby, is not good for anyone. So I plan to get a better work/life balance this year, and to accept that success is doing your best, and that’s all we can do in life. If it’s meant to be, it will be. In the meantime, I just need to prioritise my time better, delegate better, and stay calm and focused.

My main priority this quarter will be to get out and meet people. Minister Power wrote to me on 18th December to say that while no final decisions had yet been taken, it is unlikely that Irish Aid will be taking new partners in 2010. This means that we are probably facing yet another year without any core funding. So we need to get some chunky bits of funding from philanthropists, corporates, trusts or institutions in place for 2010, as it’s very difficult to plan financially when we are relying on bits of church gate collections, bag packing, Christmas card sales, small donations, etc. It’s impossible to forecast revenues from this stuff, and it’s very time consuming, so although it’s important, it should be the icing on the cake, not the eggs and flour. So my priority this quarter will be to find some people who can give us more substantial funding. I need to get out to Nepal as well, but I don’t plan to go until our funding is more secure. So guys, if you know of anyone with deep pockets who would like to support us, let me know!

Best wishes for a very happy new year, and I hope this one sees us all turning the corner financially, and things becoming more secure for us all. Peace and blessings to everyone. My thought for the week is: may we all do our best, and be happy with that.

Lots of love
Nicky