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“We’re a global community!”

February 17, 2022 in , , /by

World Day of Social Justice '22

World Day of Social Justice 2022 Ireland Irish Charity SERVE Cork

"We're a global community!" - John McGeady, SERVE alumni

20th February is World Day of Social Justice. The theme for World Day of Social Justice 2022 is Achieving Social Justice through Formal Employment.

We did a poll last year to find out how people define social justice and how we can support the rights of people around us. Today is a good day to revisit few of the remarkable responses.

Social justice is about equity.

Social justice is about combatting discrimination and inequalities in the world.

I can support the rights of the people around me by educating myself on citizenship and contribute to others positively.

Contribute to Equity

The UN explains, “More than 60 per cent of the world’s employed population, that is 2 billion women, men and youth, earn their livelihoods in the informal economy. The COVID-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on the vulnerability of workers in the informal economy. Informal workers, as they often lack any form of social protection or employment related benefits, are twice as likely to be poor compared to formal workers. Most people enter the informal economy not by choice, but due to lack of opportunities in the formal economy.”

SERVE works closely with Young Africa in Zimbabwe and Mozambique to help their students transition to the formal economy. The ongoing Skills for Youth Resilience Programme (SYRP) helps young people gain access to training programmes that include formal job placements.

We are also assisting Young Africa Zimbabwe in the establishment of Entrepreneurship Hubs to improve outcomes for those interested in self-employment and to push as much as possible for the formalisation of businesses.

Students learn about their rights and responsibilities in the workplace, as well as job opportunities with established and registered businesses, during their training. These steps actively help marginalised young people in bridging the gap to formal employment.

On World Day of Social Justice, you can contribute to equity with the purchase of our SERVE’d Up Cookbook. Proceeds from sales will go towards helping SERVE continue its work on the SYRP. 

Order your copy of SERVE'd Up Cookbook



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SERVE and The Centre for Sustainable Development Studies

February 16, 2022 in /by

SERVE's Development Work with The Centre for Sustainable Development Studies

Irish Charity SERVE works in Vietnam
SERVE Volunteers in CSDS

About Centre for Sustainable Development Studies (CSDS)

Centre for Sustainable Development Studies (CSDS) was established in 2009 in Hanoi, Vietnam. CSDS is committed to youth and community development. SERVE has been working with CSDS since 2018.

Centre for Sustainable Development Studies (CSDS) implement sustainable development programmes across Vietnam which empower youth, develop communities, and promote intercultural exchange through volunteerism, civic engagement, and active citizenship. CSDS’ activities contribute towards the achievement of the Global Goals.

CSDS also promote international volunteering and exchange, to support local communities and to contribute towards the personal development of both local and international volunteers. International volunteers teach English language classes, facilitate creative arts workshops, and deliver workshops around life skills and leadership.

CSDS have a close relationship with Irish Embassy in Hanoi, working together to promote the shared values of Vietnam and Ireland, to inspire youths to work towards achieving the Global Goals, and to provide opportunities for Vietnamese students to study in Ireland.

In 2020, in response to Covid-19, SERVE volunteers continued to support CSDS virtually, teaching English language classes to Vietnamese students.



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SERVE and Sumanahalli

February 15, 2022 in /by

SERVE's Development Work with Sumanahalli

SERVE works with Sumanahalli in India
SERVE Volunteers at Sumanahalli

About Sumanahalli

Sumanahalli is a leprosy and HIV rehabilitation centre in Bangalore. SERVE has worked Sumanahalli since 2005.

The Sumanahalli centre was established in 1978 and its initial objective was to establish an organisation that would help treat and rehabilitate those suffering with leprosy in and around Bangalore.  Sumanahalli is working in a number of areas in Bangalore and provides MDT drugs free of cost to leprosy sufferers.  Sumanahalli also provides education, vocational training and life-skills training to leprosy patients who have been excluded from mainstream society.  Sumanahalli also works closely with communities to tackle stigma and ignorance around the issue of leprosy. 

Sumanahalli centre works to fully integrate those who have been affected with leprosy into mainstream society through treatment, education and employment.

In order to develop employment prospects they also actively educate and engage in skills training. Sumanahalli has established three manufacturing units which produce candles, leather goods and garments which are sold overseas.

Sumanahalli also provides services for those with HIV by providing both ART treatment/rehabilitation and life-skills training for people under its care.



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SERVE and Association of People with Disability

February 15, 2022 in /by

SERVE's Development Work with Association of People with Disability

APD COVID Awareness_SERVE_India
APD's outreach rogramme during COVID funded by SERVE

About Association of People with Disability

Association of People with Disability  (APD) celebrated its 60th birthday in 2019. Through these years, APD has promoted innovation and positively impacted people living with disabilities in Bangalore, India. SERVE and APD have worked together since 2005 through advocacy, funding various projects and designing volunteering programmes over the years.

SERVE’s volunteer programme is a great support to APD, India.

One example is from 2019 when eight Irish volunteers helped play a vital role with APD in promoting people with disability (PWD) through special services. One of the SERVE volunteers Elaine Houlihan, a qualified physiotherapist used her skills to work with the physiotherapy department at APD, and her special objective was to work in hydrotherapy. Hydrotherapy is a treatment that involves the use of water for pain relief. The physio department, at the time, lacked specialist knowledge in this area. Elaine used her skills and knowledge in hydrotherapy to run classes for children with cerebral palsy and facilitated specialist training for the newly formed hydrotherapy team. Elaine’s work was highly regarded in APD, and she found the whole experience very beneficial and explains,

‘Seeing the impact the hydrotherapy had on the children was heart-warming. I really started to notice it when parents said it to me about the improvements they had seen in their children after only one week of sessions’ 

– Elaine Houlihan (SERVE Volunteer at APD)

Other services available at APD in Bangalore include:

  • A school for children living with mild to severe physical disability
  • A programme for children living with mild to severe learning disabilities
  • A vocational training unit – including IT, Physiotherapy, orthotics, sewing and career guidance
  • A treatment and training centre for patients with Spinal Cord Injuries – including disability management, training of family members & counselling
  • A large horticulture programme that employs people with disabilities



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Origin story

Association of People with Disability

To understand APD and how it all started, we must look into the life journey of Ms. N.S Hema (1938-2016). Ms. Hema was born on October 4th 1938, in Nuggehalli village in India. Diagnosed with polio at age 5, Ms. Hema’s hands and feet were severely affected. Her parents sought medical help across present-day Bengaluru, Chennai & Mumbai. Ms. Hema was fortunate to have mindful and understanding parents who didn’t adhere to the stigma mindset.

The roots of APD can be traced back to the meetings that she used to organise, where people living with disabilities would share their experiences, talk about their hopes and problems and, more than anything else, enjoy their rare social outing. After eight months of meeting, despite the divergent aims among its members, the formal inauguration of APD took place in the form of a training centre on 14th September 1959. (Source www.giveindia.org/blog)





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SERVE and Tsholofelo

February 15, 2022 in /by

SERVE's Development Work with Tsholofelo

Irish Charity SERVE's development work South Africa with Tsholofelo
Dressmaking skills training class at Freedom Park

About Tsholofelo

Tsholofelo has a long history of working with people in squatter camps in Rustenburg in the areas of early and primary education, health care, TVET and advocates extensively on behalf of communities with the local government. SERVE have partnered with Tsholofelo since 2005.

Tsholofelo has strong relationships with local government departments and has established and successfully handed over a number of health, education and TVET interventions over the past 20 years. 

Tsholofelo is focused on:

(1) establishing early education within squatter camps;

(2) establishing Foundation Level education in camps where there are no education resources;

(3) developing and handing over health clinics to local management; and

(4) providing TVET & Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) training to people with no education or skills background.



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SERVE and Tapologo

February 15, 2022 in /by

SERVE's Development Work with Tapologo

Irish charity SERVE supports providing the food and nutrition needs of children in Rustenberg South Africa.
Volunteers in Tapologo involved in Orphan & Vulnerable Children Programme

About Tapologo

Tapologo is a pioneering project within South Africa and focuses on the challenge of HIV/AIDS and healthcare within squatter camps. SERVE have partnered with Tapologo since 2005.

Tapologo provides holistic care and support to thousands of families affected by HIV/AIDS since 1993. The four components of their programme are:

(1) Community Based Outreach Programme, including Home Based Care

(2) Anti Retro Viral Programme (ARV)

(3) Orphan & Vulnerable Children Programme (OVC)

(4) Hospice facility for the terminally ill

Over 7,000 patients have benefitted from the Outreach Programme since 2001. The ARV Programme has over 3,800 patient files.

The OVC Programme streams have provided holistic care to over 700 OVC and the Hospice Unit has given dignified care to over 1,000 people since 2004.



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SERVE supports the Badjao tribe through super typhoon Rai

February 14, 2022 in , /by
SERVE_BadjaoTyhpoonRai

SERVE supports the Badjao through super typhoon Rai

Super Typhoon Rai (known as “Odette” in the Philippines) hit the Philippines on December 16th, 2021. It was the 15th storm to hit the country in 2021 and was the strongest storm of 2021. Millions were affected in the path of Typhoon Rai which hit Cebu, the home of the Badjao Tribe community that SERVE has supported for over 19 years. 

Their homes, like many others in Cebu, were severely damaged. Many of these homes were funded by SERVE and erected over time by SERVE volunteers. Typhoon Rai upended lives, ruined utilities, caused power and telecommunications disruptions, and even affected fishing, which is a vital source of income and livelihood for the Badjao Tribe. It was quite heartbreaking for us to see this community being harmed. SERVE has demonstrated its solidarity in action by distributing food packets to 450 families in the Badjao Tribe community. This was made possible with contributions from supporters like you. The Presentation Sisters of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary (PBVM), Philippine Vice Province, led this emergency response operation.

The Presentation Sisters’ Nano Nagle team in Cebu worked diligently in January (2021), completing community assessments, shelter renovations, water distribution, chest x-rays, and distributing food packs supported by SERVE. SERVE’s collaboration with the Presentation Sisters, as well as the joint efforts of the Badjao community and many others, such as the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer Redemptorist Missionaries Typhoon Odette Response Team, made this possible.

SERVE supports distribution of supplies for the Badjao tribe after typhoon Rai
Volunteer helps distribute supplies post typhoon Rai

Distributing supplies to the Badjao community

SERVE and our volunteers have a close relationship with the Redemptorist Parish in Cebu. Families in the village have opened their homes to our volunteers for many years, an experience our volunteers treasure along with their time helping with the Badjao Tribe.

Few photos of distributing supplies in the Badjao community

SERVE supports distribution of supplies for the Badjao tribe after typhoon Rai
Supplies are laid out for distribution in the Badjao community

Supply packs prepared by distribution team

Preparing rice packs for distribution

TyphoonRaiOperationsTeam_BadjaoCommunity
Dr. Elaine of CiTEC and the Nano Nagle Team

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February 14, 2022 in /by
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SERVE Volunteers in Nano Nagle centre in 2018 with young people from the Badjao community

About The Presentation Sisters in the Badjao community

The Presentation Sisters began working in Cebu around 1990 in an effort to help integrate and educate the people of the Badjao tribe in a way which allows them to maintain their culture and dignity but also assert their rights in the Philippines.

Typically, the Badjao are a mobile people, transferring from one place to another by sea transport. This is why they have often been referred to as sea nomads. According to the elderly Badjao, their parents left Mindanao in the early 1960’s because of rampant raiding and piracy in the waters of Basilan and Zamboanga at that time. Alaska beach in Mambaling, Cebu City was an inviting cove then, with mangroves to provide shade from the sun and protection from strong winds. Thus, the Badjao made their temporary base, tying down the boats to the mangroves lining the beach. They built houses along the shoreline on stilts, so that they could just tie their boats to the post beneath their houses. In general, the Badjao settled on land in places which they deemed safe as well as convenient for their livelihood- fishing and pearl trading. This was the beginning of the Badjao community in Cebu City.

The Badjao are skillful fishermen, armed with a vast knowledge of the ocean and its resources. Some local fishermen do not welcome Badjao fishermen in their waters because they perceive Badjao as skilled fishers and divers, to which they are no match. 

Fishing is threatened because of the marine sanctuaries. Municipal waters are protected.

Baseline research carried out by the Presentation Sisters reveals that:

  • 59.8% don’t have work;
  • 13.1% said their primary livelihood was pamana fishing;
  • 19.7% said they relied on vending;
  • 1.6% were into boat-making
  • The rest engaged as drivers, construction workers



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SERVE and Mavambo Trust

February 8, 2022 in /by

SERVE's Development Work with Mavambo Trust

Irish Charity SERVE supports Mavambo Trust's feeding programme for young children in the community
Irish Charity SERVE supports Mavambo Trust's feeding programme for young children in the community

About Mavambo Trust

Mavambo Trust is an organisation committed to responding to the HIV/AIDS pandemic affecting Zimbabwe.

The Mavambo Trust was established in 2001 to assist children to access education in the communities of Mabvuku, Tafara and Goromonzi.

However, in response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, Mavambo expanded its work to give holistic support to OVC in the areas of education, health care, food and social support. Over 9,000 children have benefitted from this education support since 2009. 

Mavambo Trust promotes local ownership by working with organisations and community volunteers who engage in extensive home visits and monitoring and evaluation.

SERVE is currently providing funding support to allow Mavambo Trust continue its valuable work for children in Zimbabwe – over 1600 children are benefitting directly from SERVE support.



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SERVE and Young Africa Zimbabwe

February 8, 2022 in /by

SERVE's Development Work with Young Africa Zimbabwe

YoungAfricaWeldingstudents_Domboshawa_SupportedbySERVE
Welding students at Young Africa mobile outreach programme supported by SERVE

About Young Africa Zimbabwe

Young Africa established their first skills training centre in in Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe in 1998. Following this a centre was also developed at Epworth. SERVE have partnered with Young Africa Zimbabwe since 2008.

Young Africa Zimbabwe began its work in 1998 by establishing their first  skills training centre in Chitungwiza, Harare. Chitungwiza is a township located approximately 25km outside Harare and has 1 million inhabitants. The people in this township are very underprivileged and there are few opportunities for education or employment. Most of the young people in Chitungwiza are unable to travel to Harare on a daily basis due to the ongoing fuel crisis, high bus fares and unreliable public transport. These social conditions mean that young people engage in risky behaviour and HIV/AIDS is a major part of life in Chitungwiza.

Today it is providing education, practical skills training and life skills training to over 400 young people daily, and over 1000 young people daily access some service at Young Africa Zimbabwe. 

The impact of all programmes is monitored closely: 80% of the beneficiaries feel better off after training; 70% of the young people make more responsible decisions in regard to HIV/AIDS. Gender sensitivity and HIV/AIDS awareness are mainstreamed in action. Governmental and non-governmental authorities come to learn from us and have implemented the methodology of Young Africa into their own works.

At Epworth, Young Africa provides courses varying from dressmaking, building and carpentry to computer applications, secretarial services and O-Level tuition. A youth club offers young people somewhere to play basketball, games and watch movies. Life skills training and HIV/AIDS awareness training is mainstreamed into these youth activities. Young Africa has a formal agreement with the Ministry of Youth Development to rent a building for a minimum of 15 years (2005-2220). Young Africa has plans to expand the Epworth project site. 



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