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LIVELINE CALLBACK

Vimbai Msindo Image Name: Vimbai Msindo Description: Vimbai Msindo

Episode 8, Thursday 3rd of January, RTÉ One, 6.30pm

In the last episode of LIVELINE CALLBACK a random act of kindness saves the day just minutes before an important job interview; a family in Sligo is desperate to get an assistance dog for their disabled son; and we hear what life is really like for an asylum seeker in Direct Provision.

 

THE KIND COBBLER

Billy White from Cork was up in Dublin for an important job interview when disaster struck. He was all dressed up in his best suit and tucker, when the sole of his good black brogues simply fell off. Billy panicked as it was only 20 minutes until his interview, and he had no idea where to find a good shoe shop or a cobbler. He simply couldn’t show up to an interview looking like that, so in desperation he asked passersby for help. One lady pointed him in the direction of the cobbler in the Jervis Street Shopping Centre. When the kind cobbler Andrei Pop realised Billy’s urgency, he dropped everything to get the job done in time. But as it was a rushed job Andrei couldn’t guarantee the quality, so refused to take any money off Billy. Billy was incredibly grateful for Andrei’s kindness, so when LIVELINE were looking for stories of ‘good deeds’, he rang in to tell Joe Duffy his story. LIVELINE CALLBACK caught up with Billy as he came back up to Dublin to thank Andrei – the kind cobbler – in person.

DIRECT PROVISION

In August 2017, Fr Paddy Byrne rang Liveline to criticise the Direct Provision system and the treatment asylum seekers receive in Ireland. A debate soon began when a man tackled Fr Paddy on his views. Enraged by what she was hearing, Vimbai Msindo rang Liveline. Having lived in the Direct Provision centre that Fr Paddy was criticising, Vimbai was keen to give her side of the story. Liveline Callback meets Vimbai to see what life is like for a refugee after getting out of Direct Provision. And Vimbai returns to Portlaoise, where she was in Direct Provision, to meet Fr Paddy and see the work he has been doing to help asylum seekers.