About Faraway Up Close

Tune in to RTÉ 1 on Thursday 24th April 2008, at 10.45pm to see the first of the new series 4.

Tune in to the fourth and final series of Far away up close on Thursday 24th April at 10.45pm on RTE ONE, to watch Liz O' Donnell embark on a very specific journey, which combines elements of her past professional life with her new standing outside the political realm.

The woman who held the ministry with responsibility for overseas development aid has taken on the challenge of providing Irish viewers with a personal perspective on how our taxes assist the developing world every year, through a structured government programme called Irish Aid.

There is a huge amount of money involved in this programme and many Irish people might not appreciate just how much.

For instance, in 1981, Ireland's total aid budget was €22 million. A drop in the ocean compared to our current commitment to shortly deliver over €1 billion each year to people in the developing world. This makes Ireland one of the most generous countries in the world.

Liz's motivation for presenting Far away up close is to encourage Irish people to take ownership of this overseas development programme where a massive budget is being spent in their name. Over the next four weeks, follow Liz as she travels across different countries in Africa to test her central thesis that Ireland's aid programme works. As this aid programme belongs to us, the purpose of the series is to generate debate and stimulate people in to asking whether they feel Irish Aid monies are being well spent?

Liz begins her journey in Liberia where she meets with the new President Johnson Sirelaf and learns about the country's focus on hope and opportunity within a now peaceful Liberia. Liz also has the opportunity to meet with a former child soldier called Sa James who was interviewed by the Far Away Up Close television team four years ago. His words and telling silence offers a chilling insight into the serious challenges facing those were directly involved in the civil war.

Next, Liz travels to South Africa to ask what role the Irish Aid programme is playing in a country that is actually defined as middle income. Set against the backdrop of economic progress and development, Liz asks how Irish money is being put to use? From here, Liz travels along the road to Lesotho, a small country landlocked by South Africa to explore how trade and development can work hand in hand. Here, Liz spends some time with a young female factory worker called Lineo who tells her how an Irish Aid funded organisation is enabling her to go to work. In a country where stigma about HIV and AIDS is prevalent, Lineo makes a spur of the moment decision to tell her co-workers something very important.

Liz is in Kenya for episode three. Here, she has the chance to review first- hand how Irish taxes assisted people after post election difficulties. Throughout the episode, Liz is in conversation with young, energetic and vibrant Kenyans who offer their perspectives on the post-election difficulties.

Ultimately, Liz hosts a series of conversations with well known celebrities, development experts and politicians in episode four. This is a memorable and colourful exploration of sample perspectives and opinions that exist globally about international aid and a chance for the audience to really test their viewpoint on the Irish government's commitment to assisting the developing world.