By Lesley Walsh
A MILESTONE anniversary has prompted a popular local charity to open new premises which are set to be unveiled tomorrow.
Abaana has moved into Bangor’s Main Street, following its early life on High Street, preparing to soon celebrate 30 years of offering discount items to the local community while helping to improve the lives of children in Uganda.
Mayor Craig Blaney will launch Abaana’s new chapter, which has flourished in partnership with local schools, churches and the community.
The new shop has been a long time coming, but following a refurbishment which began earlier this year, it is now ready to offer a whole range of cut-price items, as well as volunteering opportunities for local people with a desire to give back to society.
Abaana, which means ‘children’ in Luganda, the central language of Uganda, is a fitting name for the charity, with youngsters at its heart, and the benefactors of its earnest efforts.
Chief executive officer and founder of the Christian charity, Scott Baxter, explained how the new store has evolved.
“We are approaching our 30th anniversary in 2028 and we outgrew High Street and have been trying to move since 2017, looking at different options in North Down, and this was the first one which followed through,” he said.
It has taken some time to secure, with the initial attempts to acquire the new shop starting back in 2022.
Since then, it has been delayed by red tape concerning issues of legal rights of way to the rear of the premises, in what was formerly the AIB bank which had been lying vacant for a number of years.
With those issues finally ironed out, the new premises will be opened, following tomorrow’s grand opening, every Tuesday to Saturday, 9.30am – 4.30pm.
Scott explained: “We have just grown, and in 2016/17 we brought a choir over from Uganda and we have now brought three choirs over from Uganda; the next choir will be in 2028 and they really helped push the organisation forward.”
That growth has been bolstered by considerable support from the local community, with businesses and schools among its partners.
“We have longstanding relationships with Bangor Grammar School who had a team out in the summer time, because the school built a school in Uganda with us, and a lot of the churches would support us too.”
Commenting on the complaint that Bangor already has a glut of charity shops, he stated: “For everybody who says that, there’s always people who are going ‘we can’t wait’, but with the store on Main Street in what was once a bank, it would have continued to be empty if it wasn’t for us.
“The other thing is that the High Street is changing, because people are buying online, so for the same people who are buying online, they are closing the High Streets.
“So, when you buy online it opens up the market for the second hand stuff locally as well. It’s also important because people buying clothes end up throwing them out, so we also give the items here a new life, and it reduces landfill.”
Scott explained how the shop supports New Life Homes, Abaana’s street reach project in Uganda which rescues boys living on the streets.
The charity chief said boys were the focus as they make up a larger number of street children in the African country and because a number of similar projects already exist for girls, from other charities.
“On Friday’s opening we will actually have a former New Life Homes boy – someone who has actually benefitted from the project,” he revealed.
Operations manager Eddy Kerr said the charity is always seeking volunteers and encouraged local businesses to offer their support to Abaana.
