Back Story 3

BY ELLE WALLS

I am officially finished with the Cronkite Euro stories! I have been extremely busy since we have been home, and it has been hard to get back in the swing of things. I have had to tell people stories from the trip, show them pictures and answer the same questions over and over again, such as: What was your favorite city? (Paris) Did you have an amazing time? (YES!) Do you want to go back? (Yes!)

Volunteer Service at a Sikh Gurdwara

BY ELLE WALLS

LONDON — Inside the Langar, a free community kitchen at a Sikh temple in a London suburb, three men wearing colorful turbans cluster around a giant pot. They’re preparing kara parshad, a cookie-dough-like pudding offered as a blessing from their God. Four other Sikh men are serving food at the counter in front of the kitchen.

Guests form a line in front of these men to receive a traditional Sikh meal. There are no tables or chairs, just rows of rugs where the diners sit on the floor to eat. A woman with a light blue scarf covering her hair washes dishes at the opposite end of the Langar.

None of these men or women is paid.

The Church That Remembers

BY ELLE WALLS

LONDON—Years after the British press moved out, one church on Fleet Street remains dedicated to journalists and the industry that once ruled the area until the 1980s. In the front of the church, just left of the altar stands a wooden plaque dedicated to fallen journalists. It’s inscribed with these words: “And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us.”

This memorial at St. Bride’s Church honors journalists who are missing or have died on foreign duty. “It is part of the Church which I find to have a particularly powerful emotional impact,” said William Greaves, a former writer for Fleet Street’s Daily Mail, in an e-mail. About 20 framed commemoratory letters and photographs of such journalists line the top of the memorial to remind passersby that soldiers are not the only casualties of war.

Sikhism at Southall — Back Story

BY ELLE WALLS

Megan and I were interested in writing our second story on a religious youth group in London. After a few days and several unanswered e-mails, we realized we needed a new idea. We thought about looking into religious restaurants or soup kitchens. That’s when we realized that on our trip with Sukhpreet to a Sikh community, there would be a free community kitchen.

Closed Doors, Closed Minds?

BY ELLE WALLS

Click here to see Kristyna Murphy’s print story on this topic.

La Marais

BY: ELLE WALLS

I spent the afternoon walking around a community called La Marais with AP photographer Michael Sawyer. The neighborhood started out mainly as a Jewish community, but today it’s also a gay community.

After we stopped to eat delicious fallafels, we walked the streets of the neighborhood. It was interesting to see the two groups co-exist on the streets. The first area we photographed was a synagogue and a lot of Jewish men in the street. I didn’t see the mingling of the two groups and started to wonder what we were doing there.

Abortion in Ireland 3

BY: ELLE WALLS

Everything finally came together! Even though the Catholic Church never called us back and we were unable to find where the Women’s Resource Center is currently located, we pulled out a great story.

I had my doubts about my slide show because Picasa had a lot of technical problems on my computer, and I didn’t think my photos and facts blended properly. But once I played around with the order and figured out the perfect mix of pictures and text pages. I made sure to keep the slides short and to the point. It leaves viewers wanting to know more, so they’ll be more excited to read our other part of the story.

Child Abuse in the Irish Catholic Church—Back Story 2

BY BIANCA TUMA

The last couple of days have been long, interesting and rewarding. Derek and I spent the first day looking for information on the Catholic Church and its child abuse victims. We didn’t find anyone who was willing to speak to us within the Catholic Church, but we were able to talk to a few victims. Derek and I finally came across a well-known victim of the child abuse scandal who graciously accepted our request for an interview.

Traveling for Abortions 2

BY: ELLE WALLS

Murphy’s Law: “Anything that can go wrong WILL go wrong”

That sums up how I feel about the past couple days. A girl Facebook-messaged Kristyna saying she would talk about her view on abortion and how her cousin had an abortion. We we both so excited and thought we could do a profile on her and everything was going to be perfect again…. That was not the case. She never got back to us, and the only information we have is what she said in the first message.

Traveling for Abortions 1

BY ELLE WALLS

Kristyna Murphy and I are reporting on abortion in Ireland.

It is illegal in Ireland for a woman to get an abortion unless there is proof that the woman’s health is at risk. This law forces women to travel to other countries to receive an abortion. There are organizations that assist women with crisis pregnancies around Ireland, offer support post-abortion and even help the women set up their procedure outside the country.