Entries by Serve

SERVE Christmas Appeal 2022

November 11, 2022 in /by

Every Gift Matters

Donate to

SERVE

Don't leave anyone behind this Christmas.



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Donate €30 to SERVE this Christmas to help people like Silna, Marília and Irshad  – three of the many people who have benefited from the work we do.

Your donation will

  1. Fight poverty
  2. Tackle disability stigma
  3. Improve vulnerable communities

When you donate to SERVE you give many disadvantaged people a chance to prosper through access to education and community development. 


Meet the people we help

We would like you to meet Silna, Marília and Irshad – who have all benefitted from SERVE’s support. They share about themselves to help you understand the impact of the work SERVE does.


Where does the money go?

80% of all Christmas donations will go directly towards our development programmes with our partners. 

Your donation will give vulnerable people like Silna, Marília and Irshad a helping hand to overcome their challenges.

We do this by working with our partners to provide:

  • Access to Quality Education
  • Entrepreneurship Training
  • Disability Awareness Training
  • Community Development

100% of proceeds from all Solidarity Gifts will go directly to the communities are partners work in. 

We work with our partners to identify their needs to deliver access to quality education in vulnerable communities. Some of the programmes and types of initiatives we support financially are as follows:

  • school improvement – this could be infrastructure, equipment, materials etc,
  • capacity building for teachers and trainers,
  • scholarships for students and
  • various skills training opportunities for women and young people

There’s an unemployment crisis in southern Africa and our partners in Zimbabwe and Mozambique tackle this challenge through entrepreneurship training for young people.

Entrepreneurship training informs graduates how to start a business, how to manage funds and equips them to hire other people.

SERVE financially supports new graduates through micro-credit loans and a Graduate Kit.

SERVE works with Association of People with Disability, Bangalore, India (APD).

APD runs a programme that raises critical disability awareness by engaging school children in sensitisation training, an experiential learning experience that allows the participants to get a glimpse into the challenges and obstacles faced by those living with a disability in India.

SERVE offers financial support to run this initiative to actively end stigma of disability.

SERVE understands the complexities that vulnerable communities face, and our partnership based approach to international development means we can fund locally led initiatives and programmes ran by our partners on the ground. This means we support communities based on their needs and support them in the most sustainable way.

For e.g. we have financially supported the Badjao tribe in Cebu, Philippines to gain access to health care and improved living conditions. We have also sent emergency relief funding to the Badjao community after Typhoon Rai and to Young Africa in Beira after Cyclone Idai.

Your donation will help SERVE to continue doing this type of work.



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SERVE Christmas shop

Donate €30 to SERVE this Christmas

Buy SERVE SolidarityGifts


Don't leave anyone behind this Christmas. Every Gift Matters.



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SERVE’s overseas volunteering summer programmes are on hold owing to the global Covid-19 pandemic. However, SERVE offers new local volunteering opportunities. Please join our mailing list to stay updated on new volunteering programmes and opportunities. 

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Donate to support young women like Silna

November 11, 2022 in , , , , , , , /by

Every gift matters

Donate to

SERVE

Donate €30 to support young people to fight poverty.



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Meet Silna.

Silna lives in a stilt house on the shores of Alaska Mambaling in Cebu city.

Silna’s home is a one-room house made of light materials and galvanized iron roofing. Silna says, “We use an open pit toilet. My mother, my siblings, and their families live with me. I am the youngest of four siblings. My father, a fisher man, passed in 2008 due to heart conditions – and so I have been working hard since then to support my family.” Despite this, Silna achieved something incredible this year, she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Social Work. This is something not many have achieved in the Badjao Tribe, but she has paved her own way and she is a role model for young people in her community now. 

For Silna playtime is a luxury that she does not have. Silna’s everyday life is filled with dreams, hopes and curiosities. 

“The point is we all face incredible challenges; we do our best to overcome them and then we’re able to live our best life. I wake up at 6:30am, do the chores, fetch water, and get ready for school to go straight to my class. From school, I go home. Rest a little and prepare for dinner. Wash up and lights out. On Saturdays, I do the laundry and go to Nano Nagle Centre for the weekly assignments. Sundays are for sorting laundry from the previous day’s work and being at the little store.” – Silna, Badjao tribe, Philippines

Silna’s dedication and commitment to improve her life is no short of an inspiration.

Silna standing near her home.


Silna, member of Badjao community On Graduation Day

SERVE began working with the Presentation sisters in the Badjao community in 2003 in the area of community development. One of the biggest challenges of the Badjao community is access to education for girls especially because they are expected to marry at a very young age.

The Nano Nagle Childcare and Learning Centre was officially opened in 2008 and is the home of education inside the Badjao community. The Presentation Sisters and Nano Nagle Team offered Silna a scholarship to finish her studies.

“Who would have thought that someone like me could finish college and not get married at my age? For me, it was a dream come true. My greatest achievement so far in my whole life.”

Silna explains, “They guided every step of my way in achieving my goal. They were very instrumental in shaping my values and goals in life. They helped and guided me in developing myself into becoming who I am today. They are like my second family. SERVE plays a big factor in my life. I was excited every time a group of SERVE volunteers arrived from Ireland. SERVE is like an aunty that always brings surprises, hugs, and smiles. It is with SERVE that I feel valued, loved, recognised, and accepted for who I really am, aside from the love and care given by the Nano Nagle Centre.”

SERVE’s work with the Badjao tribe is focused on improving housing, access to healthcare, supporting educational initiatives and sending volunteers to offer their time and skills where needed.

When you donate €30 to SERVE, you will be giving many youths like Silna the chance to prosper, to feel confident and achieve their dreams.  Please donate to SERVE to support young women like Silna or buy a Solidarity Gift of Resilience.

every Gift Matters

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“I know that so many people in Ireland support SERVE to support girls like me. And I am very thankful for all their support; may it be money or moral support.

Just keep on believing that there are people like me who needed not just your money for support but also your presence.

This will give us a lifetime of inspiration and that is something that money cannot buy.” – Silna, Badjao tribe, Philippines





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Scholarships for Young People in Africa

November 11, 2022 in , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

Every gift matters

Meet

Marília

Marília lives in Beira, Mozambique. She was able to overcome self-doubt and join Young Africa through a SERVE scholarship.



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Meet Marília.

Marília lives in the 15th district of Chingussura in Beira, Mozambique. Marília recently graduated from Young Africa Mozambique through a scholarship from the Skills for Youth Resilience Programme (SYRP).

Marília completed the cosmetology course at Young Africa Mozambique. SERVE and Young Africa have worked in partnership since 2007 to help young people fight poverty through life skills, education, technical skills training and entrepreneurship skills.

Southern Africa is experiencing a severe unemployment crisis. The SYRP is a direct response to help young people in Zimbabwe and Mozambique gain technical skills that will allow them to transition to entrepreneurship. This programme helps the young people, with whom our partners work, to fight poverty. SERVE And Young Africa have together designed the Skills for Youth Resilience Programme (SYRP) to promote entrepreneurship through scholarships and relevant Graduate Kits.

“My dream is to grow and be an icon in my city and in my country, because if I am established in this business I will help in the training of disadvantaged young people to start their business.” – Marília, Beira, Mozambique

Marília in Beira, Mozambique


The young people in the communities where Young Africa work live with doubts because Marília told us that, “Many are afraid to approach Young Africa, thinking they don’t have the right to be there, but that’s not true because Young Africa supports everyone.”

Your donation supports the Skills for Youth Resilience Programme (SYRP) which ensure access to quality education and support to launch a small business.

 

“Young Africa and SERVE are important in my life journey. They have helped me a lot. When I received the scholarship, I was very emotional, I was afraid, but people motivated me by saying that I am capable.”

When you donate to SERVE, you will be giving many youths like Marília the chance to prosper, to feel confident and achieve their dreams. Your donation to SERVE will help create a ripple effect of confident young people fighting poverty.

 

Donate €30 to SERVE to provide crucial scholarships to young people fighting poverty in Africa or buy a Solidarity Gift of Quality Access to Education.

every Gift Matters

Donate to SERVE

Everyone has the right to dream and make those dreams come true even though it’s not easy at all. Every little help matters.

It’s a great feeling to know that people give you support. I can’t thank them enough. – Marília, Beira, Mozambique





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End Disability Stigma

November 11, 2022 in /by

Every gift matters

Donate to

SERVE

Donate €30 to SERVE to raise critical disability awareness in Bangalore, India.



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Meet Irshad.

Irshad lives with locomotor disability and uses a wheelchair. His home has stairs, and he sleeps in a convertible bed in the front room of the house.

When Irshad was older his father bought him a normal scooter. He got the alignment from Hyderabad, another city in India. His father joined it to the main scooter and made Irshad a customised vehicle in two days. Irshad is fortunate to have a family who see him as a full person undefined by the disability.

His family and Irshad have ended the stigma of disability among themselves with great help from SERVE and our partner, The Association of People with Disability (APD).

Irshad in Association of People with Disability, Bangalore, India


Disability stigma is a huge challenge in Bangalore, India

 SERVE and APD are working hard to end the stigma on disability through sensitising programmes and community education through outreach activities. APD are also campaigners for inclusion and disability rights.

 “You have supported so many others like me through APD. Do you know this is a huge thing because being a wheelchair user in India is very difficult – there is stigma and so many challenges.” 

In addition to this work APD offer numerous therapies and educational services on site. There’s a school for children who live with disabilities.

Irshad explains, “ I work at the Association of People with Disability, and you know I also did my primary school education here. So, it’s like I am starting at the beginning. I work in a department called MIS (Management Information System). I basically do all the registration for different programs here, I make reports of those programmes and also, I have my free coffee or green tea with no sugar that comes to my desk out of nowhere – it’s a great perk to have at work. I feel motivated knowing that I am financially independent, contributing to society and am so grateful for the life I have.“ 

When you donate €30 to SERVE, you will help more people like Irshad to overcome the stigma to live an independent life or buy a Solidarity Gift of a Specialised Wheelchair.

every Gift Matters

Donate to SERVE

“I am very thankful to the people of Ireland for supporting my journey because you have supported APD. Do you know this is a huge thing because being a wheelchair user in India is very difficult – there is stigma and so many challenges.

With APD’s help, with your help I can think about my life with more confidence, and I am determined to stay focused in whatever I do.” – Irshad, Bangalore, India





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Welcome Laura Canning

November 10, 2022 in /by

"Volunteering pushes you outside of your comfort zone.."

Laura Canning joins Team SERVE in the role of Global Citizenship Education and Volunteer Programme Coordinator. Laura writes about spirit of volunteering.

Laura Canning SERVE














My first experience as a volunteer was on a SERVE immersion programme in Zambia in 2017. My experience on the immersion programme was eye opening and thought provoking and upon returning home and finishing school it prompted me to continue volunteering locally.  

One of the main things I took from the immersion project was the fact that many young people in Ireland can take education for granted and the opportunities that follow as a result.  All children and young people deserve equal opportunities and access to good quality education is key in achieving this.

Over the past year I volunteered as an English Language teacher for adult migrants in Ireland and the UK, and recently taught children and young people in Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia. Although I had no previous experience in a classroom before, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  

One of the many great things about volunteering is that it pushes you outside of your comfort zone but in an environment where you can grow and learn. Volunteering also allows you to become a part of a friendly community of people from all different backgrounds and cultures who are willing to try new things together.

The best thing about being a volunteer is the people you meet and befriend along the way, many of my best friends are people I met while volunteering.      

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SERVE Volunteering Programme 2023 Hybrid Overseas Zambia India Ireland Mozambique


Zambia 2023 Volunteer Programme

Volunteer in Zambia with SERVE in 2023 An overview of your SERVE volunteer placement in Zambia SERVE Volunteers at Assumption Paraish, Mazabuka in Zambia In

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Join us today in helping to provide equal opportunities for communities living in poverty across the globe.





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New art in SERVE Ethical Shop

November 7, 2022 in , , /by

Original art work by Séamus Devitt for sale in SERVE Ethical shop

Add colour to your home or workspace with art by Séamus Devitt. All proceeds go to support SERVE’s work in our partner countries.

'AN CLOCHÁN THÍOS - SPIRES OF CLIFDEN
Séamus Devitt artwork #2 'AN CLOCHÁN THÍOS - SPIRES OF CLIFDEN
'HOME FROM THE SEA- ROUNDSTONE HARBOUR
Séamus Devitt artwork #4 'HOME FROM THE SEA- ROUNDSTONE HARBOUR
'MELODY _MEDLEY OF BOATS'
Séamus Devitt artwork #1









Séamus Devitt, a Redemptorist priest currently working in the parish of Our Lady of the Assumption, Ballyfermot, Dublin was a SERVE Brazil leader in 2008.

Dublin-born with Clare roots, Séamus started his artist passion with photography in the Connemara but took up painting for the first time at age 44. He was a student for 36 years in the ‘Irish School of Landscape Painting’ under Kenneth Webb at Ballinaboy, near Clifden. He has been visiting Clifden for over 60 years now and says, “I leave half my soul here.”

He dedicated the proceeds of his exhibition ‘Connemara Music’ to SERVE which was displayed in the West Connemara Sports and Leisure Centre in Clifden on September 14th – 24th.  We’re extremely grateful that Séamus raised €2,500 for SERVE at the Clifden Arts Festival in September 2022. 

Séamus began in the academic style, but after a time, was more captivated by vibrant colours and, more recently, by form and strong shapes. His preference now is towards minimalism, even cubism. He finds energy from the works of Matisse. Another artist whose style attracts him is the French painter Louis Toffoli (1907-1999), with his overlapping and blending of multiple shapes. 

We can’t thank Séamus  enough for dedicating the proceeds of his beautiful exhibition to SERVE’s vital work. These proceeds will ensure continued support for partners through impactful programmes that act as a catalyst in transforming the lives of marginalised communities in Southern Africa, India and Southeast Asia. 

If you are interested in bringing art to your home or office then Séamus Devitt’s artwork is a great choice. You can order a print on canvas of 3 of his most prized paintings in our Shop or please get in touch with us.

 





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SERVE Ethical Shop

Browse the shop for alternative gift ideas that keep on giving.





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SERVE Think Global Act Local


Selene’s social justice inspiration

‘Notorious RBG’ Selene Rapetti participated in our Think Global, Act Local 2022 programme. Selene writes about a social justice icon who inspires her. Selene Rapetti

Selene’s social justice inspiration

October 11, 2022 in , /by

'Notorious RBG'

Selene Rapetti participated in our Think Global, Act Local 2022 programme. Selene writes about a social justice icon who inspires her.

SERVE Think Global Act Local
Selene Rapetti participated in SERVE 2022 Think Global, Act Local
Chief Justice William Rehnquist swearing in Ginsburg as an associate justice of the Supreme Court, as her husband Martin Ginsburg and President Clinton watch.
Chief Justice William Rehnquist swearing in Ginsburg as an associate justice of the Supreme Court, as her husband Martin Ginsburg and President Clinton watch.




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Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a lawyer and an associate justice of the US Supreme Court who fought throughout all her life for gender equality and a more equal society for everybody.

From the beginning of her career, if not before it began, she suffered many types of discrimination. Despite this, she continued to fight for equality and managed to achieve significant changes in the US system.

When she began studying law at Harvard Law School, she found herself in a purely male environment that considered it normal to ask a woman admitted why she was occupying a man’s seat (she was one of nine women in a class of five hundred people). Despite the discrimination of her classmates and professors and her private life (she had a small child to take care of at the time, and her husband was ill with cancer), she managed to finish her studies at the top of her class.

In spite of her excellent school results, Ruth Bader Ginsburg encountered numerous difficulties in finding a job in a law firm once she had finished her studies. Indeed, as she said in a speech, “I was Jewish, a woman, and a mother. The first raised one eyebrow; the second, two; the third made me indubitably inadmissible”(1). Because of this numerous discrimination, Ruth Bader Ginsburg had to temporarily give up working in a law firm and accepted a teaching position at a law school.

Despite all the obstacles she faced as a woman, Ruth Bader Ginsburg did not stop, and she first brought important cases before the Supreme Court and then became an associate justice of the US Supreme Court herself.

The first case she ever discussed in front of the Supreme Court that was related to gender discrimination was Moritz v Commissioner of Internal Revenue, in which “The taxpayer, Charles E. Moritz, appeals from a decision of the Tax Court holding that he was not entitled to a deduction for expenses in 1968 for the care of his dependent invalid mother. The Government argues that the deduction was unavailable because he was a single man who has never married, the deduction being limited to a woman, a widower or divorce, or a husband whose wife is incapacitated or institutionalized”(2).

Ginsburg’s work directly contributes to Sustainable Development Goal 5: Achieve Gender equality and empower all women and girls.

1] https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1993/10/4/ginsburg-speaks-at-law-reunion-pus/

2] https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/469/466/79852/

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‘Think Global, Act Local’ about next steps

October 6, 2022 in /by

Think Global, Act Local 2022 is a wrap

We look forward to seeing where our TGAL 2022 participants take their Global Citizenship journey next.

SERRVE_Next Steps Weekend_2022
Photo from Next Step reflection with volunteers online
SERRVE_Next Steps Weekend_2022
Announcing the SERVE 2023 Volunteer Programme
SERRVE_Next Steps Weekend_2022
Announcing the SERVE 2023 Volunteer Programme




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Our 2022 Think Global, Act Local (TGAL) programme gave us the chance to virtually meet and learn from like-minded SERVE volunteers. We wrapped up TGAL a couple of week ago with a final ‘Next Steps’ reflection session.

Our group met to reflect on the lessons learned over the past seven months from the Global Citizenship Education (GCE) workshops they were involved in, the guest speakers from the Global South, and their experiences facilitating online workshops with our partners in Mazabuka in Zambia.

One of the big themes of the day was to think ahead to the next steps in our participants’ Global Citizenship journey. It was echoed by our TGAL mentors, Orlagh Henry and Fiachra Brennan, that it does not matter how big or small the next step may be, as long as we continue to be open to learning and progressing, contributing to global lessons and acting in solidarity.

We wrapped up the day with our big announcement that we are restarting our Volunteer Programme in July 2023 after 3 years. TGAL has inspired the new Volunteer Programme. These last two years of running TGAL have helped us grow as GCE facilitators. We are delighted and grateful that those who mentored and facilitated the TGAL programmes will be returning in various capacities for our 2023 Volunteer Programme.

Without our overseas volunteer programme, Think Global, Act Local 2021 and 2022 provided us with the opportunity to virtually meet and work with enthusiastic volunteers (and occasionally in person). We look forward to seeing where our TGAL 2022 participants take their Global Citizenship journey next.

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Antonio TGAL SERVE Programramme online volunteering


Antonio’s TGAL reflection

“Through the monitor I could see their wide smiles..” Participants from our Think Global, Act Local programme facilitated online workshops over four weekends on Cover

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Sorcha’s Postcard from Mozambique

October 5, 2022 in /by

Post card from Mozambique

Sorcha Cremin sends us her final postcard from Young Africa Mozambique after completing her role as SERVE’s Regional Monitoring & Evaluation Officer.

SERVE Mozambique Sorcha visit 2022 Young Africa
Sorcha with few of the students and staff at young Africa Agri Tech campus in Dondo, Mozambique
SERVE Mozambique Sorcha visit 2022 Young Africa
Sorcha helping plant eucalyptus trees at Young Africa Agri Tech Campus to soak up the water to reduce the impacts of flooding during their 6-month rainy season.




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In July 2022, following a long wait due to COVID-related travel restrictions, I finally got to visit Young Africa’s two centres in Mozambique; YA Beira and YA Agri Tech Dondo. Over the course of a week (a flying visit!), I was able to meet with both centres staff and students and see first-hand the wonderful work being carried out at the centres which are both supported through funding from SERVE.

It was made abundantly clear to me how negatively impacted both the centers and the people of Mozambique have been in recent years. There has been significant damage as a result of two cyclones, COVID, and significant inflation.

SERVE continues to play an important role in helping young people by through Young Africa centers where young people can continue to improve themselves and their communities.

One memory that will stick with me is meeting and speaking with a young girl named Marilia. She received a scholarship from SERVE to complete a course in Beauty and Hairdressing. She was quickly recognized as excelling in the course and was assisted in obtaining a work placement. In the year since, she has been able to obtain a microcredit loan from SERVE’s Skills for Youth Resilience Programme (SYRP) funding in order to build her own salon at her home. Since then, her business has thrived, and Marilia is now filled with optimism about the future.

Everyone I met gave me so much time and energy to see as much as I could and explain to me how things work at each of the centres. After a year of working with many of the staff remotely, it was a truly amazing experience to get to meet them all, as well as current and former students, in person and see the true realities on the ground. Many thanks to all for memories that will stay with me for a long time.

About SERVE’s Skills for Youth Resilience Programme (SYRP):

SYRP provides scholarships to young people in need to access further education to learn life and entrepreneurial skills which enable them to move forward in their lives, as well as by providing funding and support to develop the centres further through funding for expansion, equipment for courses, as well as through human resources and capacity building support. There are many different courses on offer, such as Electrical  Construction, Baking, Hairdressing etc. At YA Agri Tech there is also a huge farm which teaches dairy/farming skills, horticultural skills, solar energy skills and much more. Please donate to SERVE and support SYRP.

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Culture Night at Scala: An inspiring success

October 4, 2022 in /by

What an amazing time at Scala on Culture Night!

K Eastmann founder of Cork Repair Cafe describes the Culture Night 2022 event at Scala.

Culture night Cork 2022 SERVE sustainable culture amazaning night cork zero waste cork repair cafe cork clothes swap silvio severino ashleigh ellis
All the collaborators - Photo by José Bateira




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What an amazing time at Scala on Culture Night!

The collaborated efforts of SERVE, Cork Zero Waste, Cork Clothes Swap, Cork Repair Café, artist Silvio Severino and crafts-person Ashleigh Ellis, all came together beautifully to show how you can build a sustainable culture by bringing back some of the old traditions and practices of fixing, repurposing, and exchanging the things we have.

Sharing with others our skills and knowledge, as well as creating works of art out of everyday things. There was a frenzy of activity on the night as people came in with things to repair, clothes to swap, even plants and books to exchange.

There was also a photo exhibition to highlight the impact of climate change and another one showcasing life in different parts of the world to help us understand we’re interconnected and interdependent.

An eagerness to learn and share skills, experiences and ideas filled the room with the inspiring energy of community and culture.

The small bit of rain didn’t deter people from walking and absorbing the wonders of The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Trail built by SERVE volunteers. And delicious ethnic food was enjoyed while everyone indulged in the activities.

In the end, everyone came away with a little more insight on how to incorporate the skills and ideas that they learned into their daily lives. And by doing so, they become an essential part in building a sustainable culture.

All the photographs below are by José Bateira.

Learning how to repair clothes


Making collages with unused/unwanted paper with Silvio Severino


Learning about the method of dyeing from Ashleigh



Swap before buying



SERVE exhibit about it's work with partner in Mozambique post cyclone Idai



Photo exhibition by SERVE


Cycle repairs



Aishling of Cork Zero Waste






Fixing before buying


Enjoying art

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