In today’s fast-paced and ever-evolving world, “the importance of equipping young people with leadership skills and determination is very important,” says Georg Brackerhoff who has been coming to Ireland every three years for the last 30 years leading a youth group called Linie 15.
During the trip Georg teaches them how to become leaders, face challenges and learn from the kindness of others.
History of club
The youth club Linie 15 is located in Adenauerallee, Bonn, Germany and is based in the Althaus education centre.
It was founded in 1965 by parents and students. The parents in particular wanted to find meaningful leisure activities for their children, with a Christian influence.
Starting in January, the group met and planned their route across Ireland, budgeting out how much it would cost and where they wanted to go, along with the logistics of the distances to be covered.
The two-week trip saw a group of 14 students, aged 13 to 20, cycle 100km a day across rural towns in August. Their route took them from Dublin to Galway through Ballyknockan, Kilkenny, Michelstown, Killarney, Listowel and Lahinch.
The weather is not always the best in Ireland, so the motto for the group during the rain and bad weather was to ‘dance in the rain’.
“It’s a lesson for life you can always face challenges in different ways. You can say let’s take on the challenge that helps us improve.”
Another reason why the group chose Ireland was because of the culture and the people.
Youth Club Linie 15 cycling 100km a day around Ireland for two weeks.
On one of the days the group called into a house near Ballyknockan in Co Wicklow, to ask if they could sit outside and have lunch, when they were offered a hot cup of tea which is not normal in Germany.
Georg asks the group what they are going to take home from the trip – the answer – to bring the hospitality back with them.
One of the students who has been on a few of the trips is Louis Truken Bark, who at the age of 20, is now one of the eldest in the groups.
“You feel good because you had the responsibility for the whole group of 14 people, at the end of the day when everything goes well, it is an accomplishment. When everyone arrives at the accommodation that night with no injuries, it is a relief,” says Louis.
Leadership skills
During the two weeks, the group all worked together and helped each other cook each evening when they arrived to their accommodation. They then sat and had a group dinner to speak about the highlights from that day.
The three eldest members of the group then picked out someone who had shown the best leadership during that day’s cycle and gave them the yellow Tour de France cycling jersey.
They also picked someone else who went through a challenge or showed determination and they wore the green Irish jersey the following day. All left saying they had happy memories of their trip around Ireland.
Read more
CAO: drop across the board for ag science points
Rural Ireland students struggling with accommodation shortages
In today’s fast-paced and ever-evolving world, “the importance of equipping young people with leadership skills and determination is very important,” says Georg Brackerhoff who has been coming to Ireland every three years for the last 30 years leading a youth group called Linie 15.
During the trip Georg teaches them how to become leaders, face challenges and learn from the kindness of others.
History of club
The youth club Linie 15 is located in Adenauerallee, Bonn, Germany and is based in the Althaus education centre.
It was founded in 1965 by parents and students. The parents in particular wanted to find meaningful leisure activities for their children, with a Christian influence.
Starting in January, the group met and planned their route across Ireland, budgeting out how much it would cost and where they wanted to go, along with the logistics of the distances to be covered.
The two-week trip saw a group of 14 students, aged 13 to 20, cycle 100km a day across rural towns in August. Their route took them from Dublin to Galway through Ballyknockan, Kilkenny, Michelstown, Killarney, Listowel and Lahinch.
The weather is not always the best in Ireland, so the motto for the group during the rain and bad weather was to ‘dance in the rain’.
“It’s a lesson for life you can always face challenges in different ways. You can say let’s take on the challenge that helps us improve.”
Another reason why the group chose Ireland was because of the culture and the people.
Youth Club Linie 15 cycling 100km a day around Ireland for two weeks.
On one of the days the group called into a house near Ballyknockan in Co Wicklow, to ask if they could sit outside and have lunch, when they were offered a hot cup of tea which is not normal in Germany.
Georg asks the group what they are going to take home from the trip – the answer – to bring the hospitality back with them.
One of the students who has been on a few of the trips is Louis Truken Bark, who at the age of 20, is now one of the eldest in the groups.
“You feel good because you had the responsibility for the whole group of 14 people, at the end of the day when everything goes well, it is an accomplishment. When everyone arrives at the accommodation that night with no injuries, it is a relief,” says Louis.
Leadership skills
During the two weeks, the group all worked together and helped each other cook each evening when they arrived to their accommodation. They then sat and had a group dinner to speak about the highlights from that day.
The three eldest members of the group then picked out someone who had shown the best leadership during that day’s cycle and gave them the yellow Tour de France cycling jersey.
They also picked someone else who went through a challenge or showed determination and they wore the green Irish jersey the following day. All left saying they had happy memories of their trip around Ireland.
Read more
CAO: drop across the board for ag science points
Rural Ireland students struggling with accommodation shortages
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: