EIL UK - children

Teaching English to Chilean children

marina — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 14:49:47 +0000

This volunteer had travelled to Chile to teach English as part of the Volunteer Abroad programme.

children

teaching

Chile

Volunteer

teach English

School kids

marina — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 14:46:24 +0000

Some of the children in the volunteers English class. The volunteer had travelled to Chile to teach English on the Volunteer Abroad programme.

project

children

school

Chile

Volunteer

teach English

Cape Town Diary

Piers Meynell — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:39:02 +0000

On September 18, 2009 The Roscommon People covered Ciara Cunningham's story in the article The sad plight of an AIDS orphan. Ciara is one of the winners of EIL Travel Awards 2009. She have travelled to South Africa for nine weeks as part of EIL’s Global Awareness Programme, to volunteer with people living with HIV and AIDS.

In Africa there are 13 million AIDS orphans. “A generation of human beings who have never known a mother’s loving cuddle or a father’s guiding hand. These children will learn life skills in institutions rather than imbibe them from their parents” – Richard Dowden, ‘AFRICA: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles.’

I will never understand how it feels for a child to be abandoned by his family, not knowing when he will see a familiar face again, if ever.

From my first day at ThembaCare I noticed how needy Toliy* was. He constantly wanted to be held. If I sat still for one minute he would climb up onto my lap looking for a hug. Sometimes he would cuddle into my chest and just sob. It was not until I read his file that I realised what he has been through in his short two and a half years on earth.

Before Toliy was admitted to hospital he was cared for by his father. However, the level of care he received was questionable. Toliy was often found alone in his shack or left behind in local shebeens (illegal pubs) that his father frequented. He was admitted to hospital together with his mother, who was also sick. When she discharged herself she was never seen at the hospital or at her home again.

Toliy was admitted to ThembaCare two months ago with just his name and the clothes on his back. Initially his parents could not be traced and he constantly cried out for GoGo, a person who the social workers at ThembaCare were also trying to contact. His mother was recently found in a clinic in the Eastern Cape, hundreds of miles from Cape Town. She is quite ill herself and does not want anything to do with her son. Toliy’s father and GoGo have yet to be found.

The staff and volunteers at ThembaCare gave Toliy a great deal of love and attention and while we could never replace the love of a mother or father, I noticed that in the past few weeks he was much happier and relaxed. Unfortunately, the sense of stability given to Toliy at ThembaCare was greatly disrupted last week when he was admitted to hospital with TB.

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is an aggressive virus that destroys the immune system resulting in sufferers being unable to fight off any disease. Consequently, HIV patients are susceptible to tuberculosis, malaria and numerous other diseases and infections. It is widely documented that TB is the most common disease and the leading cause of death in people living with HIV and AIDS.

Due to Toliy’s strain of TB (it is drug resistant) he will not return to ThembaCare and, upon his discharge from hospital, he will go to a TB clinic for approximately two years. This is a huge setback for him and it is impossible to determine how it will impact on his mental and physical development.

Lynda and I have been to visit him in his isolation unit in hospital and he gets so excited when he sees us. He spends most of his time giving us long kisses on the outside of the face masks that we are required to wear. It is likely that we are the only people that have been to visit him. It is so sad that a child of such a young age has to live with HIV and various other diseases without any support from his family. I hope that some day he gets the love and stability in his life that he so greatly deserves.

While work can be very intense we are very lucky that we have a great host family to come home to in the evenings. Lynda and I are the 81st and 82nd guests to stay with them and they have been most welcoming.

Most Friday nights they light a fire in a big drum outside and we sit around chatting and listening to music. Lynda brought a CD of Kila with her and they love playing it and getting us up to Irish Dance! I do not think that Michael Flatley would be too impressed with our efforts but they have not seemed to notice that we do not know what we are doing!

The occupational therapist in ThembaCare has been requesting a trampoline for a long time and I was delighted to be able to purchase it last week with your donations. The children love it and as many of them have very weak muscles it is a fun way for them to exercise. The toddlers also love sitting on it while myself and Lynda jump behind them so our fitness is really being tested!

* name changed to protect privacy.

Travel Abroad

Volunteer Abroad

South Africa

children

welfare

Cape Town

HIV

AIDS

ThembaCare

Laura's account of teaching in Nigeria

Piers Meynell — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:31:42 +0000

Laura Mc Grawth from Dublin writes about her time volunteeringin Nigeria:

I have recently returned from working as a volunteer in Ibadan, Nigeria. Even though I have now been back for many weeks, I have still very strong, happy memories of the country that was to be my home for two months. I found Nigerians to be a passionate, energetic people with a zest for life that would put most Europeans to shame. Although they are faced with significant challenges on a daily basis, people live in the here and now and are very thankful for what they have.

Religion forms the backbone of society – people are very devout and most people form friendships/ relationships through their church. When I was over there I took the attitude of “when in Rome.....” and went to services in all of the various churches – Baptist/Pentecostal/Catholic, and took part in all religious festivals. Indeed, New Years Eve was spent on my knees in a Pentecostal Church in Abuja, praising the Lord and singing hymns/ dancing in the aisles until 2 in the morning!

I worked in a school for the duration of my visit. During this time I assisted the French teacher and also gave a class on Irish/European culture. The children are fascinated by anything European – we talked about traditional festivals – I described Irish festivals to them and we compared them to their local festivals. They wanted to know about our weather, what type of food we ate, I also showed them pictures of the Irish country side and historical buildings. I taught them some Irish traditional songs and by the end of the 8 weeks they were even able do a bit of Irish dancing! At the weekend and on school holidays I spent some time in an orphanage, playing games and doing arts and crafts with the children. They were great kids who were really excited to have a new person to play with.

Before going to Nigeria, my primary concern was personal safety. During the day, I felt very safe. I used public transport and never once felt threatened. I found the people to be very friendly, curious about Ireland and very respectful. Once night falls, you do need to have your wits about you. The locals tend to be home for sundown and many do not socialise outside of church gatherings. If you follow local warnings and guidelines you should be fine.

I would highly recommend Nigeria as a place to work for future volunteers. It is invaluable to get first hand information on a country that is so maligned in the international press. Yes, Nigeria has its problems, but I came back with a deep respect for the ordinary people who live out their lives with such dignity and happiness

Travel Abroad

Volunteer Abroad

Nigera

teaching

education

children

Ibadan

Abuja

Oisin Brogan and Kidz Klub

Piers Meynell — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:05:10 +0000

Oisin Brogan from Tralee, Co. Kerry, Ireland spent 6 months volunteering in Nigeria and shares his story with us:

I suppose I should start from the start.

Sometime in late 2007, I decided 14 years will be enough. After this year, it was time for a break, time for a change. Time to do something else with my life.

The change I sought was away from the classroom. I was about to enter 6th year, and college was the obvious next step for someone in my shoes. Well, I decided, not for me. I wanted to try a different way of learning, another form of education. Get out, see the world, learn by doing and all the other cliques.

You might think I was a bit young for such a change. Thankfully, my parents didn't agree with you, and with their support I started to plan what was to become my "Sozialesjahr". (Mum's German.)

So, for the guts of nine months, I lived outside Ireland. Outside Europe. I bag-packed around Peru and Ecuador for three months with a group of North Americans, marveling at everything I saw. These were a wonderful 12 weeks, but looking back now, they were training for the main event.

After Christmas with the family, I packed my bags again for Nigeria. (This proved to be my first mistake. I packed the same items as for South America, and let me tell you, volunteering requires different things then trekking) I was heading off with EIL, whom I had found through an internet search of "volunteer abroad".

Why did I choose Nigeria? There were a number of different reasons. I had always wanted to go to Africa, and when else would I get a better opportunity then this? The projects EIL offered in Nigeria also seemed more in my line of interest, which was working with children in a sort of play environment. More practically, I had spent weeks trying to learn Spanish in South American. I didn't want to spend a similar time learning a native African language or worse, French.

I spent the plane journey over to Nigeria worrying. I was terrified. Not about a new country, or about the plane crashing or anything like that. (Though I'll never forget the burnt out planes left by Lagos Airport's runway to greet people to Nigeria) No, I was desperately worried about volunteering. Or, more to the point, my preparation for my five months of work ahead. What had I done? I had a list of nursery rhymes, and a few games to play with kids. What was I going to do?

These feelings were given brief respite during orientation, when I had to deal with new sights, feeling and people. The local staff did their job well, taking it easy on the facts and language course, knowing we'd still be getting used to everything. The city tour they arranged for us was spot on, giving a taste of what being out and about an Nigeria city was going to feel like, while still letting us "do the tourist" for awhile.

However, once I got to my actual placement, the feelings returned. Don't get me wrong. The people of Ilesa and Living Hope Care (the NGO I worked five months with, LIHOC for short) were all wonderful and welcoming. Everyone went out of their way to try make my transition easier.

One of those kindnesses, however, was the thing that really scared the pants off me. Ms. Fakande, both my host Mummy (as she was called by all her staff) and boss, sat me down on my first night in her home and outlined what LIHOC did, and how I might be able to help in those endeavors. During the talk, she kept using phrases like "if you wanted you could ..." and "it's up to you ..."

Unfortunately, this was exactly what I didn't want to hear. Feeling ill prepared, I was hoping for a set task, laying out exactly what was expected of me, so I could learn and eventually (with luck) excel at that job. Instead, Mummy told me I could help "in any way I can." To make matters worse, LIHOC was very different from my expectations. In my mind's eye I saw myself working in an orphanage. As Sanya, college and friend told me later, that's not how things are done in Nigeria. LIHOC acted more as a facilitator and service provider for the children they worked with. Feeling at a total loss, I smiled and went to bed.

Tossing and turning, I left culture shock for the first time in my life. It was all do big, all too difficult, all too different. I longed for that classroom. At least I knew I was good at that.

A long story short, I managed to deal with that feeling. There were highs and lows along the way. For the first three weeks at LIHOC, I was left with little to do, not being offered any long term job, as promised. Those three weeks, looking back, were just the right thing for me. At the time, I was frustrated and scared, that this would how it would be for the rest of my stay. In reality, Ms. Fakande and LIHOC were giving me time to find my feet and my own way to go.

My breakthrough came in the form of Kidz Klub. This was a once a month meeting held in nine different sites across Osun state. It was one of the few times LIHOC staff had direct contact with the children, and involved skill building and informal learning, plus a few games. Over the five months, I ended up adopting the running of one of the Klubs, and tool an interest in all of them. I was often, towards the end of my stay, jokingly referred to as the "KK adviser."

Of course, once a month meetings aren't enough to keep one occupied. With the date of the Klubs circled in my calendar, I started to look for work around LIHOC.

I joined the Project Management Team, which oversaw all of LIHOC's activities. This meant I knew all of what was going on, and even got to have a say in some of it. I became the local computer expert, which led to my later task of digitalising our database of the children. I generally tool up any work I thought I could handle, including interviewing caregivers of the children for microcredit loans, among other things.

This "do work as it comes" attitude obviously leads to occasional lapses. Some weeks were slow, some weeks flew by. I needed a daily job. This came in the form of a teaching assistant. I worked in Ife Oluwa (Love of the Lord) a local primary school as a general helper to the teacher of Primary Four. I taught mostly Maths, but also dabbled English, Home Economics, Science and even Religion, which I thought a bit ironic given my own views on the subject.

The people at the school were wonderful. Not only did this give me my chance for daily interaction with children, they were the most flexible employers imaginable. Work at the office tool preference and, as I said, came and went. Sometimes I wouldn't be able to come to school at all. When I returned, apologies ready, they wouldn't even bat an eyelid. Merely ask what I had brought back from my travels for them.

As I'm starting to go a bit over limit again, I guess I should write about the two most important things I found out in Nigeria. I could write about countless other things, such as goats and chickens, Premier League soccer matches, the weather, stomach ulcers or Michael. Maybe I will, another day. But right now, I should stick (loosely) to the "few paragraphs" limit I was set.

Unsurprisingly, of the two, one was about Nigeria, and one was about myself. When I arrived to the country, I had a picture in my head what a 3rd world country should not only look like, but feel like. It should look dusty and run down, with lots of shanty towns and rusted iron. It should feel poor and hopeless, as though every day was a struggle. There should little if any happiness and certainly no optimism.

However, that's what I found. In spite of my "geography textbook view" of the country, optimism was in abundance. I learned quickly not to call Nigeria a "poor country". Acknowledging it had problems, that was okay. But no Nigerian I met accepted that Nigeria was poor. If only the government sorted itself out, everything would be fine. It sounded like anything you heard back at home. Even the poorest of the poor, the kind that needed LIHOC's help, didn't regard their life as a struggle. They have problems, a malfunctioning health system, meeting fees to keep their children in bad schools, finding work. But still they had a spring in their step.

The eye opener for me was when I met Kuti, a farm laborer, interviewing her for a micro credit loan. I realised, halfway through the conversation, that she was one of the farmer you hear so much about through Fair Trade, etching out a living on less then $1 a day. Yet she seemed so happy. She spoke positively about her planned catering business, telling us "school kids already came to her for kuli kuli." After the interview, she even offered us some fruit she had picked while farming that day.

The discovery was a more gradual process. It dawned on me, towards the end of the trip, that I had occasionally, throughout my stay, taken the initiative on things. I had taken on the running of a Kidz Klub. I founded a soccer club in the local primary school (one of the things I couldn't write about) I had gone out of my way to visit people. Me! Visit people, with no invitation. Something I wouldn't have thought of in Ireland. I have never considered myself a go getter, as they say, someone to get up and do something. Set me a task, I'll do that for you. but taking the initiative ... Nigeria forced that out of me. Now, it wasn't a complete turn around. I haven't started my own Ngo upon my return to Ireland. But before I left for home, someone who did (set up an Ngo, and now spends most of his time in Nigeria) commented that I had been "one of the most active volunteers who came to Ilesa." That show I'm making some progress, at least.

And, when I did get home, to no summer job (again) I somehow ended up volunteering in an Enable Ireland charity shop.

Volunteering, it seems, is a hard thing to shake off.

P.S. This is my second attempt. On my first try, I realised I had gone far over Anton's "a few paragraphs" suggestion, and I was still writing about orientation. I will send along that version later. (if I ever finish it ;)

P.P.S. I will be in Dublin for the EIL gathering on the 19th of this month. Looking forward to seeing you. You don't know where I could get yam in Dublin by chance?

Travel Abroad

Volunteer Abroad

Nigera

children

teaching

sport

Ilesa and Living Hope Care

Osun

project management

Ife Oluwa

Brona's account of volunteering in Nepal

Piers Meynell — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 14:42:09 +0000

Brona Higgins is a student from County Monaghan who spent 9 weeks on a volunteer programme in Nepal. She's shared with us an account of this life changing experience:

Nepal. The natives will continuously tell you it stands for Never Ending Peace And Love. Of course you laugh off this cute but predictable little mantra in the beginning but by the time you leave this absolute paradise you realise they couldn't have been more right all along!

I spent 9 weeks in Nepal both working as a volunteer and travelling with the other volunteers and (without wanting to sound like a Miss Universe candidate!!) I can honestly say that those 9 weeks have been the most fulfilling, rewarding, happiest and most memorable of my life so far. I had always wanted to visit Nepal, but not as a mere fleeting visit or holiday where I would only get to see the 'touristy Nepal'. I chose to work as a volunteer so that I could experience true Nepali life for myself and get to the root of it's culture.

I was 19 last summer when I went there, and was going on my own so I was a bit worried that I would have trouble assimilating into such a different culture and that there may be no other volunteers there to befriend. I needn't have worried.

When I arrived in Nepal I was picked up at the airport, by a member of EIL's sister organisation in Nepal, and whisked through the streets of Kathmandu en route to the hostel where I would be staying and taking language classes, with a group of other volunteers form all round the world, for the first week. Quickly, our little group became good friends and we would all go on excursions (both day and night!) together in-and-around Kathmandu after the classes.

On the second week most of us went our separate ways with some volunteers beginning their various placements while the rest of us got the opportunity to visit and stay for two nights in a traditional ethnic village, Lamatar, in the hills encompassing the Kathmandu Valley. Here we were taught ethnic dances, how to cook the national dish - Daal Bhat - and got a lot of exercise on our daily hill hikes which were more than compensated for by the staggering 360 views over the Kathmandu valley and the snow-capped mountain peaks. If I could imagine a place to epitomise what Heaven should look like it would be Lamatar.

During the second half of the second week we were brought by bus, with many of us choosing to ride on top of the bus (extremely recommended!!!) for five hours through some of the most breathtakingly picturesque Mountain Passes imaginable, stopping half way to go white water rafting on the Trishuli river, only to be picked up again and brought to Chitwan National Park. Like the rest of the whole experience, the days spent here were also unforgettable, filled with elephant riding through lush jungles, being happily thrown off the back of an elephant into the river while 'helping' with the elephant baths, visiting indigenous ethnic villages and an elephant breeding centre, floating down the river in authentic dug-out canoes while crocodiles swam lazily past and again, dancing hand-in-hand ethnic tribes.

On our third week we were given the opportunity to partake in a Himalayan Trek, which I enthusiastically accepted. Had I realised how physically demanding I was going to find it I might have reconsidered, as I struggled to drag limb and lung up stepped mountainsides while native 'sheraps' ran unfazed past (once even while carrying a TV. and a table on top of his head to my utter disbelief!) But given the chance I would undoubtedly do it all again, as no amount of physical exertion can dampen the high of sleeping above the clouds and waking up to a 'gods-eye-view' of snow capped mountain tops for as far as the eye can see.

I finally began my volunteer placement on my fourth week. I was originally intended to be teaching English but I was eager to experience working in an orphanage also, so I asked the coordinator in Nepal about it and he willingly arranged for me to work for a week I an orphanage along with another one of the volunteers. My time at the orphanage was demanding but utterly enjoyable. The kids vied for our attentions non-stop and we were constantly called upon to play with them, or in my case sing a song or play something on the guitar. Our duties involved caring for the children, bringing them to school and helping them with their homework. I fell in love with the kids and did not consider it 'work' as such as I loved playing with them and just being happy with and towards them brightened up their days. The only down-side of my week at the orphanage was that after a week I had to leave them and I was afraid they would feel like I was abandoning them just as they were beginning to get attached. I made a promise to myself, and the kids that I would return once a week for the rest of my time in Nepal to visit them and let them know I hadn't forgotten about them. That promise was easily honoured.

It was after my week in the orphanage that I was brought to my original destination the family home stay. I didn't really know what to expect, living with a Nepali family for 5 weeks - would they have sufficient English? Would they like me? Would they be very protective over me? Even what would the food be like?

But, typical of everything else that had happened to me so far this experience, this too, surpassed all my expectations. The mother was an exceptional cook and I often found myself helping myself to more food than even the father! Meal times were family times and enjoyably intimate. Another volunteer was staying with the same family at the same time as I was and we would sit with the family during meals and in the bedroom/living room, all of us watching TV together in the evenings. We would join in the cheering for our favourite Bollywood Stars when they appeared on TV or jeer if a villain did. The younger children would lie with me on the bed while we watched TV as if I had lived there with them all their lives. The parents, also, more-or-less adopted me as one of their own. By the end of my stay I had assimilated into their culture with so much ease that I was beginning to feel like a Nepali myself!

The kids in the school where I taught were no less accommodating, always bringing me flowers or cards into the school or inviting me to come eat dinner with them in their houses, which I did on occasion. The school children, also, would plan little day trips on Saturdays where they would escort me on foot to all the local attractions - hill-top temples and lakes passing shocks of colour in the form of the vibrantly coloured saris of the women picking rice in the paddy fields as we walked by.

As for the people of Nepal, they are without a doubt, the most welcoming, selfless, generous and friendly people I have ever come across. Whether it be the families of schoolchildren who would kill a chicken for my benefit at dinner or the ladies on buses who would insist upon me sitting on their knees if the bus was over-crowded, or the group of young Nepalis whom I befriended that brought me everywhere - parties, sightseeing, their respective rural villages - on the back of their motorbikes day after day without asking for a thing in return, these people would put the selfishness and greed of other nations to shame.

I fell head over heels in love with this land of unique beauty and even intend to go back to work there when I finish University.

I would definitely recommend choosing to do volunteer work in Nepal, especially with this programme as it gives volunteers the chance, not just to work as a volunteer, but to explore the country through a whole host of other, previously arranged, activities - ie. White water rafting, trekking, rural village stay.

If you do choose to go to Nepal I needn't wish you a happy journey - that's a given, and I might even see you there :)

Brona Higgins

Travel Abroad

Volunteer Abroad

Nepal

orphanage

welfare

children

homestay

teaching

Kathmandu

Lamatar

orientation

Chitwan

Himalayas

May 1st - Food Glorious Food - Bread, Potatoes and RICE

Piers Meynell — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 14:11:14 +0000

Cathal From Co Mayo kept a diary about his is experience of working at a volunteer camp in Rajasthan, India. Here's an entry from part way through his time there:

Hey all

Hope everyone is well and good and all ready to enjoy the May weekend. was pretty shocked when i realised it was 1st May as that means I am home later on this month. Now finish week 9 and beginning to feel the countdown to the finish line. I have come back up to Mcleodganj the village where the Dalai Lama resides for the weekend because i liked it so much last weekend. it is a real chilled out and relaxed place and I am completely fascinated by the Tibetan influence and the Buddhist monks. It is fascinating religion.

Continuing away at work with the special needs children at their school in camp. it is great to be working regularly with the same kids and building up a good relationship with them. They are really beautiful kids and each have their own distinctive and strong personalities and it is a pleasure working with them every day. Unfortunately in Indian society there is a big stigma attached to these kids as they are not viewed a 'Normal'(Anyone can tell me what defines Normality I'd love to know). so it is very important that we give them a loving environment and build up their self esteem and develop their life skills. It is tough work mentally and physically and my respect goes out to all special needs carers. You try and spread yourself out amongst the kids and give them all time but they want it all the time and that is tough. But as tough as it may be and please dont think for one minute that i'm complaining the rewards are huge. a smile from one of these kids is worth million euros.

I paid a visit to the area special needs centre to have a meeting with the district specialist and she was inspirational. With little or no support she has established these schools and kept them running and is showing the families and community how special these kids are. She had a fantastic poem in her office that i will put up on facebook in a few days that says it all.

The reason for the title of this weeks update is cause I am missing my normal diet. jaysus I even think I could be a vegetarian by now and there is a sentence that I never ever thought I would write. Its been 60 days of bread, potatoes and RICE. I think the cook figured last week that I was tired of the RICE and to my shock and surprise the other day i went up for dinner and instead of RICE, it was pasta. I was in shock and then he told me that we were having Dessert as well, I was like Dessert. What are we having and with a straight face he looks at me and says RICE pudding!!! Now as glad and appreciative as I am to be getting 3 good meals a day I had to stop meself from Hitting him. But seriously it is great to be so well looked after.

So as I asked Am I now a vegetarian. I could even ask am I now Healthy. Since I left Ireland on 01st March, i've had no meat, no cigarettes and very few drinks. Yes people look at the sender, this email is coming from Cathal Kelly. i think this could explain the recurring dream I have, where am lying in a bath with the shower also on, just after having a dinner of steak, peas and chips, with a good pint of the Black stuff on a table beside the bath and a proper toilet in the corner. i wonder can this dream be deciphered as meaning anything.

As i said the Buddhist monks are fascinating. especially the tibetans and they are just so chilled out to talk to. i went for a walk round the village last sat night and This tibetan monk asked me if he could walk with me and for the next 20 minutes we had the most fascinating conversation. There ideas and philosophies are so simple but make such sense. i went straight back to my room and wrote 10 pages bout the chat in my journal . i cant do justice to his word but basically he was telling me in order to find happiness we have to look at ourselves and our relationships with each other and how we treat each other and simplify our life in order to be content and happy with what we have and not waste time chasing unimportant materialistic things . as i said I cant do him justice.

Now no need to worry, i'm not joining the monks but it was amazing the way he just appeared for the chat and spoke to me bout all the things I have been thinking bout while I'm here. Funny and strange things do happen sometimes and i think i was lucky that I realised that this was a special moment.

Well thats all my tales for another week. Hope Ye all stay well and enjoy the weekend.

Take care,

Cathal

Travel Abroad

Volunteer Abroad

India

disability

education

welfare

children

Rajasthan

McLeodganj

Buddhism

Caroline Enright's account of her time at the Manav Sadhna Centre in Ahnedabad

Piers Meynell — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 13:54:12 +0000

Caroline Enright, a graduate in International Studies, spent 7 weeks volunteering with the Manav Sadhna Centre in Ahnedabad. This is an account of her time there:

The Manav Sadhna centre is fantastic and they do phenomenal work with women and children in the areas of education, empowerment, health, craft. I wrote a proposal for funding for the building of a new workshop for the women's craft part of the NGO which will hopefully be accepted soon...I got to use the qualifications I learned through my degree and it was good having my own projects to work on. I am also selling Manav Sadhna products through Amnesty in Ireland, they're really happy about this in the NGO as it means they can include more kids and women in their programes through greater demand for products... I started to feel a bit remote from the people in the slum as I was working on the computer a lot, so I asked a Manav Sadhna worker to come with me to the slum and get people together in their families. I took photos of each family and developed them and put them into frames. I gave them back to the families who were so happy... They have no photos of themselves, their families or kids growing up so they really appreciated it...

I've learned so much about development, about life in the slum and about constructive ways to help people, rather than just through handouts. Getting to work with people in the slum was incredible - they're such admirable, generous people who always made me feel welcome. They also showed themselves not to be victims, even in their terrible poverty, but people who are more than capable of bringing themselves out of poverty, once they are given the right tools and a fair chance. Being in India taught me more than I could ever teach or give the people there.

Caroline Enright

Travel Abroad

Volunteer Abroad

India

children

education

health

community development

Ahnedabad

Manav Sadhna Centre

arts and crafts

women

empowerment

Niamh Manning from Dublin volunteered with for 3 months in a care centre for disadvantaged children in Quito.

Piers Meynell — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:03:59 +0000

I spent three months in Quito, Ecuador at the start of this year, as a volunteer of EIL. I found the first while to be very tough, being on my own without my friends and family around, in an unfamiliar place and submerged in an unfamiliar language. I had absolutely no Spanish before arriving in Ecuador but by the end, I was quite confident with the spoken language.

But despite the inevitable rocky start, I had an amazing experience. Once you apply yourself to the language classes and start to get a grasp of it and you start meeting other volunteers in similar situations as you, you'll be flying and having a ball! I worked in "Albergue la Dolorosa" with children whose parents couldn't look after them full time for various reasons (drugs, imprisonment, poverty, etc). I played with the kids and helped with their homework (English in particular) and just generally gave a hand to the ladies who worked there, whatever needed to be done. I worked there 4 days a week most of the time and kept my weekends for some traveling around the country and doing the "touristy" thing I suppose!

I lived with an upper class Ecuadorian family and was spoilt by them!! But I found the homestay a great insight into their way of life; the culture, the food, etc. and of course it was a huge help with the language (if not very frustrating in the beginning).

My time spent in Ecuador is a time I will never forget, although sometimes I have to remind myself it wasn't all a dream, as it's so immensely different to life at home in Dublin. It opened my eyes to the vast poverty of the country, I got the opportunity to meet so many different people, I learnt Spanish and I think I really matured as a person!

Niamh Manning

Travel Abroad

Volunteer Abroad

Ecuador

Quito

Spanish

children

welfare

Albergue la Dolorosa

Katie Mahon from Co Wexford volunteered in Chile for 10 weeks in a center caring for girls from a disadvantaged background in the town of Temuco

Piers Meynell — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:01:34 +0000

Katie Mahon from Co Wexford volunteered in Chile for 10 weeks in a center caring for girls from a disadvantaged background in the town of Temuco. She wrote on her experience just a few days after having left the center.

I've finished my volunteer placement and I was broken hearted leaving the Hogar in Temuco!!! Felt like the time went so so quickly, and it was so hard saying goodbye to all the girls and everyone working there knowing that I wouldn't see them the following day, or week or month........... it was like having another family!!! I can't believe how welcomed I was, how much everybody made an effort to make me feel a part of the whole group, and how much the Tias appreciated any bit of help they received.

3 words to describe my volunteer programme during my summer holidays??? - ABSOLUTELY AMAZING EXPERIENCE!!!

I thought I'd arrive in a depressed run down building where the kids were always super sad, or violent & that it'd all be really difficult to deal with. But even with few resources, the girls are leading perfectly balanced lives, they feel normal, abet having 19 other sisters is a bit odd!! They're all totally crazy and I love them all....!!! At times it was tough trying to help them because each one of them is craving attention, so when you spend 20 minutes doing homework with one girl another one might feel ignored or left out.... but if you don't spend enough time going through work with each girl they don't understand the explanation!! They girls are so loving and caring, dying to play and joke all the time, misbehaving half the time as well just like any child. So so full of life and energy!! So inspiring....

I definitely grew up a lot in terms of putting other people first, learning from the Tias and Tios, absolutely everything is for the girls. My patience has improved too!! I realised that the best way to deal with a girl who's being disobedient or misbehaving and won't listen to me is just to stay happy instead of getting frustrated.... I know it's obvious but I couldn't believe it actually works, give them a hug and just ask kindly will they wait a little bit for me & half the time they actually would!! If I got frustrated they would just laugh at me, so the best thing to do is laugh at yourself - most useful skill of the last 2 months was the ability to laugh at myself!! Between the language and everything, so many times I was in tears laughing about the misunderstandings, lost in translation..... like one morning, lashing rain, I arrived at the door and Tia Gladys in reception said to change my tights because they were soaked, but in espanol "Sacate las panties", but panties is calzones for an english speaking person, so I thought she was telling me "take off your underwear, now, take it off, its absolutely soaked wet, quick take off your underwear!!!!!"

The volunteer programme in Chile was definitely an amazing experience which gave me the opportunity to put my time and energy to good use and to learn a lot different things. I am now planning to organise some discussions in the schools in my area in order to share my experience and raise awareness.

Katie Mahon

Travel Abroad

Volunteer Abroad

Chile

children

welfare

Hogar

teaching

Temuco

Eleanor Reece from Dublin spent 3 months in 2007 volunteering with a project that supports children facing difficulties in Brazil.

Piers Meynell — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:31:48 +0000

Eleanor Reece is an Information Administrator from Dublin. In 2007, she spent 3 months in Florianopolis volunteering for the Vidal Ramos Fundation. This project supports children facing difficulties and keeps them off the streets.

Casa Brasil is a new volunteer project based in the City of Florianópolis in the Southern Brazilian state of Santa Caterina and was only established about two years ago. The main aim of Casa Brasil is to provide a safe and accessible place within the community for local children. Not uncommonly, needy children do not return to their homes after school for a number of reasons; instead, they play in the streets and become easy targets for drug dealers and people who start exploiting them - even their own parents. For these and many other reasons there are many projects like Casa Brasil that focus on poor children. Here they spend non-schooling hours in an environment that encourages learning, co-operation, social skills and of course fun. There are about 80 children between 6 and 15 years old who attend this project. Some children attend in the mornings and others in the afternoon. Everyday is different and for volunteers there is no set routine. The children are divided into classes based on ages and the volunteer can work with different groups each day. The teachers and volunteers work with the children and encourage them to play together and fairly. We organise and partake in many sports games and art and craft activities, as well as teaching new games. This requires a lot of self-initiative and continuous enthusiasm especially as this project is still in its infancy. However this has many advantages as the volunteers can participate in the continuous development and progress of Casa Brasil.

I have been working here with one other volunteer from Germany and with the help of our volunteer co-ordinator we have implemented new programmes including teaching basic English and also decorating and making physical improvements of the outside playground area. We have also tried to inform the children of our home countries, the culture and languages we use through different activities. In addition we also taught them about their native Brazil and other countries especially in South America as this opens theirs minds to global understanding and awareness of the world around them. Through these ideas and our daily interaction with the children, you can really see the benefits of the volunteer presence here even though it is only for a short period of time - you can see it in the faces of each individual child you come in contact with. It is important to remember though, that the contribution you make is not just about being involved in activities 24/7, it is about the difference that you made in that one person's life by showing them that they are important and they deserve love and attention.

As a volunteer you definitely benefit hugely from this experience and you learn so much especially when you live with a host family. This improves your knowledge of the Portuguese language and also your knowledge of Brazilian life, local culture and food. Also most Brazilians are so friendly and love to show visitors their home and family life, their city and their country so you can experience it all first hand. As with any volunteer programme certain skills are necessary including a level of adaptability, flexibility and enthusiasm. What I realised most is, that the more positive effort I put into this, the more positive my overall experience has been and it has been an amazing wonderful positive experience.

Eleanor

Travel Abroad

Volunteer Abroad

Brazil

CASA

children

welfare

Vidal Ramos Fundation

Florianopolis

Santa Caterina

Class Activity

Piers Meynell — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:07:22 +0000

One of the classes Irish volunteer Kathleen Lucy was teaching English to in Langa community, South Africa.

children

Africa

teaching

English

language

education

Brona playing the guitar

Piers Meynell — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:43:16 +0000

Brona Higgins (on the right), a student from Co. Monaghan, Ireland, and a fellow volunteer singing and playing the guitair to children at a Nepalse orphanage.

children

orphanage

guitar

arts and crafts

Rosetta Reilly, a primary teacher from Co Meath, shares her thoughts on volunteering in Argentina

Piers Meynell — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 16:23:28 +0000

Rosetta Reilly, a primary teacher from County Meath Ireland wrote the following email to Anton, EIL Ireland Volunteer Abroad project officer, updating him to how she's getting on with volunteering on a project in Argentina.

Hi Anton,

Rosetta here from a rather hot La Rioja! Happy to say that all is going really well, the project itself is very well received by all the teachers and Im healthy, happy and enjoying the whole experience. I'm working hard preparing workshops for teachers once a week and then visiting their classes where I try to put into practice what I preach! The English classes here seem to be all very text based and therefore not very interesting or stimulating for the children. What I am trying to do is to show the teachers ways to make the language come to life in the class and to have the children speaking the language because they are enjoying the activities and not just filling pages in a workbook. So far it has all been very well received and the children in the classes have proven my point with their response to the activities I do with them. Because they have very little resources here I have bought quite a lot of toys and games for the teachers to use and the children are really so happy to see the puppets etc that they are soon trying to speak to the puppets who only speak and understand English. I have over 500 euros on toys and will leave them all to the schools when I leave. I am working with 9 different schools. I am also putting "teaching packs" together for each of the teachers who have been attending my workshops - including some of the things I used most, puppets, toy animals, giant letters etc. I have asked my family for some money and they are happy to help

I am really enjoying the home stay part too. The family I am with are great and seen to have birthday parties every week- and they go on very late!!

Now I would like to go to volunteer in Ecuador in January and I hope you can arrange a similar placement there.

Hope you're well and look forward to a reply,

Rosetta Reilly

Travel Abroad

Volunteer Abroad

Argentina

teaching

children

education

La Rioja

Laura teaching in Katputali Nagar

Piers Meynell — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:22:12 +0000

A photo of Laura Abecasis teaching, a young French women living in Dublin, who volunteered to teach in Katputali Nagar, India.

Katputali Nagar

teaching

education

children

Ireland

language

English

Students outside Katputali Nagar day care center

Piers Meynell — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:06:09 +0000

A photo of the students outside the Katputali Nagar day care center where Irish volunteer Laura Abecasis worked.

Ireland

welfare

teaching

children

Katputali Nagar

student

June Keohane and children from ADISA

Piers Meynell — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:01:16 +0000

Irish volunteer June with students receiving educational support from ADISA.

teaching

education

children

Ireland

ADISA

Ice cream parting

Piers Meynell — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:56:00 +0000

Clodagh Rochford from Ireland and a child from the orphanage in Quito where she volunteered.

children

welfare

Ireland

orphanage

Quito

Katie Mahon and children from Hogar, Temuco

Piers Meynell — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:40:20 +0000

Katie Mahon from Co Wexford, Ireland volunteered in Chile for 10 weeks in a center caring for girls from a disadvantaged background in the town of Temuco.

children

Ireland

welfare

Hogar

Eleanor Reece Brazil

Piers Meynell — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:36:45 +0000

Eleanor Reece from Ireland with Sophia from Germany and Gabrielle in the middle, Welfare Project in Brazil.

welfare

Ireland

children

Germany