UCD Volunteers Overseas

BACKGROUND

UCD Volunteers Overseas (UCDVO) is a registered Irish charity established by the late Fr. Tony Coote in 2003. Since then, the charity has been working on education, healthcare and community development projects in India, Haiti, Nicaragua, Tanzania and Uganda.

UCDVO not only provides opportunities for volunteers and host communities to share and develop skills, it also generates greater understanding and respect for differing cultures and life experiences.

CURRENT PROJECTS

Volunteers participate in a year-long Development Education Programme which works to ensure participants are responsible, responsive and ethical in their approach to international volunteering. Volunteers are also encouraged to engage in awareness raising activities which highlight the connections between wider development issues and issues which they encounter locally in Ireland.

UCDVO works closely with Comhlámh on the design, implementation and evaluation of many aspects of our programme. We also run a Development Film Series, Annual Forum, and 2 evening courses in activism and facilitation – all of which are also open to the wider UCD Community and public.

As part of the year-long programme, approximately 100 volunteers from UCD will support development projects in India, Tanzania and Uganda in the summer of 2020, all of which are carried out in partnership with local communities and partner organisations.

India: UCD physiotherapy students will travel to Andhra Pradesh & Meghalaya to deliver physiotherapy clinics for children with disability. Another team of volunteers will implement a community development project in Tamil Nadu, with the aim of empowering disadvantaged women & children who are marginalised in the community.

Tanzania: volunteers will travel to Morogoro and Ruaha to support educational projects which enable children to better access and complete their schooling. Past project activities include computer education & IT literacy for primary and secondary teachers, library development, and English summer camps with opportunity for creative learning through sports, arts and crafts. This year, healthcare volunteers will also travel to Dar es Salaam on a pilot project, to support the activities of a day centre for children with disabilities.

Uganda: In Kisiizi and Nansana, healthcare volunteers will run rehabilitation camps for children with disabilities and their families along with educational workshops on health, nutrition and disability awareness. In Nansana, business students will also support livelihood activities, including small businesses and micro loans.