Korean study-abroad company impressed following visit to Mayo
THE Castlebar community came out in force during the fine weather to welcome a very important delegation from South Korea that only decided to visit four days beforehand.
SMIS is one of the largest and most successful Korean companies specialising in sending Korean students abroad for summer and winter study programmes and Castlebar and the broader Mayo and west of Ireland are firmly in their sights following the recent whistle-stop tour.
While the weather was unusually kind at this time of the year the delegation was very impressed by what is on offer for students who are hoping to come to Castlebar later in the summer. Competing with the United States, Canada, the UK and Australia is no easy feat but after the delegation’s visit and the warm and sunny welcome they received from all quarters of the county town, it is looking likely that Castlebar will see the arrival of Korean students to the town this summer.
The trip was organised by Castlebar native Conor Melvin, whose Irish-based company Limitless Adventures will partner with SMIS to offer Korean students the opportunity to experience learning, sport and adventure in one of Europe's most beautiful, safe and friendly locations.
Added to the sporting and cultural side of things the most important part of the visit is the opportunity for the students, who are aged 10 to 14, to experience a unique opportunity to live with a host family and experience a fully immersive and cultural experience and one can see why this company has its sights set on the west of Ireland.
The two to four-week programme will be based on the international gold standard CAS model of learning and will focus on three main areas – creativity, activity and service/volunteering.
For creativity, the students will take classes from local artists and musicians with a focus on the tin whistle and harp.
For activity, the list could be endless and depending on the length of stay but the focus will be on GAA, exploring the Wild Atlantic Way, hiking Croagh Patrick, fishing in Clew Bay, falconry at Ashford Castle and cycling the greenway to Achill, to name but a few.
For service and volunteering, the aim is to partner with local non-profit and community-based organisations and for the students to spend some time helping those in need or giving back to the community.
Ten per cent of the trip proceeds will also go towards local non-profit organisations and the trip itself will also provide a major financial boost to the town, host families, schools and businesses which should result in a sizeable positive impact on the local economy.
Conor has brought Korean and Chinese students to Mayo before and has worked with SMIS several times for camps in Singapore and Malaysia but this will be the first time SMIS will offer a camp to Europe.
With just four days notice and only 48 hours in Castlebar to see what's on offer, the scouting mission was a huge success.
Said Conor: “There is still a lot of work to do to finalise things and to make it happen but everything and everyone, from the weather to the community, came together for the short visit so that the delegation left satisfied and very impressed with the town and the facilities it has to offer the students.”
He added: “The weather played its part, but so did the local community, schools, government, businesses and families who, given only four days notice of the visit, came out in force to promote our beautiful region and wonderful people.”
Conor is very appreciative of a number of people including Minister Alan Dillon, former Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Margaret Connell and all in Mayo County Council and local government, Dave O'Malley and Donal Newcombe of Castlebar Leisure Complex and Lough Lannagh Village, Ciaran Collins of Collanmore Island Lodge, Padraic Gannon of Croagh Patrick Seafoods, Courtney of Ireland School of Falconry, and Denis and Dino O'Brien of Irish Folk Music School. Special thanks to the local families who opened their doors to show the delegates their homes and introduce them to their families over a cup of tea!
If you are a family interested in hosting students or a non-profit initiative that would like to collaborate, you can get in touch via the following email: info@limitlessadventuresasia.com.