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Debbie Thomas
Living and working in different countries and cultures has made me a fan of edges: the edges of mainstream society, the edges of the classroom and the edges of the brain where creativity dances. I love encouraging children and young people who feel outside, outcast or overlooked for any reason, from cultural or economic to physical or psychological. Creative writing and illustration, especially through storytelling, are wonderful tools for finding common ground and building confidence. They broaden perspectives, boost empathy and celebrate different ways of being as well as what we have in common. They also improve literacy in an understated way without embarrassing participants – especially immigrants whose first language may not be English – by focusing on the serious business of fun. After training as a BBC radio journalist in the United Kingdom, I lived in Bangladesh, where I wrote for radio and aid agencies. I moved to South Africa just after the election of Nelson Mandela as the president and wrote for educational and development organizations to promote cross-cultural understanding in the country’s new democracy. Now living in Ireland, I write children’s books and run creative writing and development education workshops in schools and libraries as well as for asylum seekers in direct provision (the accommodation system for people seeking refugee status in Ireland) and young patients at Crumlin Children’s Hospital.