I attended the Serve Training day on 25/02/2023 at their offices in Scala, Blackrock in Cork city. I researched the place name Scala and found out it means steps in English. In many ways the training day could be summed up as a step by step approach for volunteering with SERVE.

SERVE, you might already know, are committed to tackling the root causes of poverty to achieve justice, equality and opportunities for all they work for.

We mostly discussed the Sustainable Development Goals and how we can implement them into our daily lives.

Being one of the older members on the training day I was very impressed and encouraged to see some many younger people interested and enthusiastic about the work of SERVE in Ireland and in the projects they work in other countries.

The trainers and organisers on the day were also young people and created an environment, which encouraged participation and discussion. We broke into smaller groups at different intervals and then returned to the larger groups to discuss our findings. We mostly discussed the Sustainable Development Goals and how we can implement them into our daily lives.

The trainers emphasised that these SDGs are things we should try to incorporate into our thinking and actions all of the time, not just for one month in the summer when we volunteer with SERVE. This was the aspect of this discussion that I liked the most and challenged me the most.

I still have a long way to go before I can volunteer with SERVE in Bangalore, India this summer.

The appealing aspect of volunteering with an organisation like SERVE is that they do not simply go to a country to make a short-term impact and then leave. SERVE work in partnership with approved local organizations already established in the countries where volunteers are sent, and so the work to achieving the SDGs is ongoing.

I had a good time that day. It was also challenging, and I felt supported and listened to by everyone involved with the SERVE training day. I still have a long way to go before I can volunteer with SERVE in Bangalore, India this summer.

I recognise that volunteering with APD and Sumanahalli in Bangalore, India appears to be the pinnacle of my journey. However, I must add that the journey continues when I return home to Ireland and contribute to the SDGs through my words and actions. This was the the biggest learning from the 1st training day for the SERVE 2023 Volunteer Programme.

… the journey continues when I return home to Ireland and contribute to the SDGs through my words and actions.