Episode 16: Bobby McCormack

The Breifne Earley Show

This week's guest Bobby McCormack talks to Breifne Earley about his teenage years where dropping out at his first attempt at third level education saw him travel the globe and gain the experience that would see him create a NGO called Development Perspectives in the mid noughties. Visiting Sri Lanka immediately after the devastating tsunami in South East Asia his naive expectations of the work done by aid organisations in such circumstances were dashed by the number of and lack of impact from these entities. Eager to help in a meaningful way and to try and restore normal life to the people of Sri Lanka, Bobby and his now wife felt they were a hindrance rather than a help to the clean up and restoration effort. When they came home to Europe they were invigorated and drafted a strategy to make a significant improvement in the lifestyle of people in less developed countries through education both in Ireland and in those countries challenging their perceptions of each country. Starting by bringing fifteen Irish people to Sri Lanka in 2006 for three weeks to experience life there with a reciprocal visit later that year they continue to challenge those participants to open their eyes to different ways of living. Now with a staff of five people and a core of dozens of volunteers working year round to create the opportunity for hundreds of participants each year to challenge their own perceptions.