What does poverty and social marginalisation look like in Ireland?
And how can we tackle it?
Most volunteers go overseas to play their part in tackling poverty and other related issues in developing countries but to truly challenge these issues we need to maintain our commitment at home as well. Decisions made at every level of Irish society can impact the poor both in Ireland and abroad. By volunteering in Ireland we can tackle both the causes and the effects of poverty.
Volunteering opportunities exist whether you would like to stay active in development issues or you would like to get involved with local issues affecting vulnerable people in Irish society. It also provides a great opportunity to use skills that you learnt whilst abroad or to develop new skills, meet new people and continue to learn about important social issues.
Before you choose to volunteer, remember that volunteers have rights and responsibilities that you are expected to uphold. For more information about this, see Volunteering Ireland’s Charter for Effective Volunteering.
Online Volunteering
One of the great new facilities available for eager volunteers is online volunteering. Online volunteering allows people to be directly involved with projects around the world, without leaving their home country. This is a great opportunity for anyone who is passionate about a particular issue or region of the world but cannot go there in person. Volunteering opportunities can include giving legal advice and proposal writing to research or translation. See a list of online opportunities with the UN available from onlinevolunteering.org or check out nabuur.com.
Solidarity Groups
As well as volunteering at local, Irish-focussed projects, you could also volunteer with a solidarity group that campaigns on issues affecting people in the developing world. Organisations such as Amnesty International, Christian Aid or Camara regularly seek volunteers to help at their events or to get involved with different aspects of their work. As well as checking the website regularly, it is worth subscribing to Dóchas Wednesday news, which lists all upcoming paid and voluntary opportunities in the development sector.
Alternatively you could become an active member of a solidarity group and get involved in regular activities and meetings or events as they come along. For a full list of solidarity groups working in Ireland see Comhlámh’s Index newsletter.
Comhlámh is one such solidarity group. We coordinate regular campaigns about pertinent development issues in Ireland and we have an active Trade Justice Group, open to anyone to join. For more information about Comhlámh’s campaigns work click here, or to find out how to join the trade justice group call 01-4783490.
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