£60,000 funding lifeline for PAKT

Project Director, Ann Doyle, said the funding would help the group continue its vital work in the town.

She said: "Without it we would have to close and to rip PAKT out of Lurgan now would be devastating to the town, the funding is absolutely vital.

"Peace is fragile in the town, there are those who are trying to destroy it and we are working to bring communities together."

PAKT (Parents and Kids Together) is a family-focused, cross community project launched in 1993 by St Peter's and Shankill Parish churches.

It has worked tirelessly to bring families from the two main traditions together through a range of social and educational programmes.

The project is open to all in the Lurgan area and offers schemes for all ages - from 0 to 80 years old.

After school projects, training classes, volunteer schemes and a popular genealogy research group are held throughout the year.

One of its successful projects, Not in My Name, was set up last year following the killing of a police man in Craigavon. It was the brainchild of one of PAKT’s teenage participants.

Ann continued: "We don't just focus on individuals, but also family units and we work to encourage togetherness

"There was a real outcry following the killing of Constable Carroll that the people who carried it out represent nobody. There was a real desire that we demonstrate that in some way.

"And in the light of the recent bomb scares and rioting there has never been a clearer need for a project such as ours.

"We work hard to dispel common myths and it has helped to forge good relations between people. Young people have said to us they no longer have a fear of the other side."

She went on: "Former members are now bringing their children along to the group and lifelong relationships have been created through PAKT crossing the divide.

"There are good kids out there and we aim to be able to provide for them and offer them something different."

PAKT was the only organisation throughout Mid-Ulster to benefit from funding from the Community Relations Council.

The money will be used to fund salaries and provide running costs at the Church Walk base.

"We have had fantastic success, people have experienced things with us that they wouldn't have got the chance to otherwise," said Ann.

"Children have become sporting stars or taken up acting and gone on to make a success of their lives.

"The group was established to help move away from the fears and anxieties of the past so that our children could have a good future.

"What drives me is that if we manage to take one child out of the grasp of a paramilitary organisation or crime, then we have succeeded."

Ann paid tribute to the dedicated and committed people who have helped establish the group, particularly Maurice Houston and Alison Stevenson, who have been part of the organisation since its formation.

She also thanked Shankill Parish Church, Lurgan Library and staff at the Jethro Centre: "We have a very dedicated hard working support staff whose enthusiasm has helped make us the success we are today," said Ann.