Women from all walks of life welcomed at Pinetree Manor

Women from all walks of life, backgrounds and cultures met at Helm Housing scheme, Pinetree Manor on Tuesday to celebrate International Womens Day. 

The event was organised jointly by Helm Housing, the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust and Good Morning Colin, a project which helps keep older people connected to their communities. The organisations work together as part of the Colin 60+ Group and run events to support seniors in areas of West Belfast and beyond. This is the 10th year that the organisations have celebrated International Womens Day together, with previous events covering themes such as Reminiscence, Film and Life Stories in Pictures. This year the focus was on multiculturalism and women from a variety of cultures were in attendance, including residents from Helms Hong Ling Gardens which is home to many Chinese Elders. The ladies enjoyed afternoon tea and were treated to a traditional Indian dance performance from one of their neighbours. Speaking at the event, Helm Housing scheme coordinator, Rosemary Diver said: People can often feel isolated when they live alone or if theyre recently lost a loved one so we organise events to address that and keep people connected. International Womens Day was the perfect opportunity to get all the ladies together to enjoy an afternoon of entertainment.At Helm we understand the importance of social interaction for those who live alone and we try and create a social network for these people through events like this. I want to thank all the ladies for coming along today to celebrate International Womens Day with us, and also our partners South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust and Good Morning Colin for helping to make it happen.'