Celebrating a special anniversary of one of NI’s groundbreaking cross-community initiatives

The programme originated through the actions of Belfast mum, Sarah Hughes.

“She and her husband owned a grocery shop between the Shankill and the Falls in the early 1970s. Come summertime, she had two boys aged nine and 10, and couldn’t let them out onto the street because of the Troubles,” explains Leslie Busby, retired chairman of CPNI.

“She came up with the idea that she would write to the editors of 20 newspapers based in America, telling them the story that she couldn’t let her boys out.

“She explained she was brought up outside Lurgan and her father would have given American troops milk and so on while they were based there before they went into the Second World War in Europe.”

This was in 1972, the most violent year in Troubles’ history. The letter was sent and picked up by The Fargo Forum in South Dakota. Communication started and Sarah’s nine-year-old son travelled to Fargo during the summer of 1973, staying on the 1,000-acre farm belonging to Ruth and Roy Lerud.

“They were putting in various articles he was telling him,” explains Leslie.

“As a result of that, Bob Nickoloff, who was the president of Hibbing Rotary Club read this articles and said this couldn’t be happening in a friendly country like Ireland.

“He said he’d make it his charity project for 1974 and take as many children as possible to the United States to get people to host them.”

In 1974, 120 children travelled to the Midwest, staying in Minnesota, Dakota and Wisconsin with Rotary Club families.

“Catholics stayed in Protestant homes and Protestants in Catholic homes, showing that people can live together, you don’t have to kill yourselves over religion,” says Leslie.

It was so successful that the Americans asked Mrs Hughes and her friends to help. Leslie, who was a Sergeant in the RUC then worked with community relations to help get children up to the airport, before being asked to join a committee in Northern Ireland (a similar group was formed in Minneapolis).

“The programme started and the first batch of children went in 1975. In 1976, it went to 166, in 1977, almost 200 went,” he says.

“It lasted 45 years before it phased out in 2017. Terrorist groups were trying to divide the community; we were trying to bring them together.

“We kept things quiet and said nothing, but it was great to get the children out and expand their knowledge and interest in life.”

While humble about their impact, Leslie and the team must surely have contributed to the start of similar peace programmes.

“In our programme, we took 10,000. It’s hard to believe we’d have taken so many, but that’s how many got the experience of a lifetime,” he says.

“When it [turned] 25, President Clinton sent out a congratulatory letter. We were recorded on the Congressional Record in Washington on the 105th Congress session.

“Marjorie Mowlam thanked us and had us up at Stormont to thank us for the good work we were doing,” he continues, saying that many children returned to the United States on repeat visits and later, for weddings and special occasions.

“Hopefully we helped bring people together… and take some credit the way peace has landed with us.”

Leslie is keen to celebrate and acknowledge the pioneering work of the founding members, the brave local children, the host families and supporters of the CPNI.

“Special recognition and thanks must go to the generous host families, who opened their hearts and minds to young Northern Irish children, allowing them to experience a summer away from the tragedy of the Troubles,” he says.

“Due to the selfless actions of Sarah Hughes, Ruth Lerud and Bob Nickoloff, children from both sides of the divide were able to experience a summer with each other in an integrated environment, realising that people from different religious back grounds can live together in peace. Planting the seed for peace in Northern Ireland in the years to come.

“I am very proud to have been a part of this fantastic programme, which inspired many other programmes to follow, and wish to thank and celebrate all those involved over the last 50 years.”