Our History

The planning for the first volunteer trip for UCDVO began in 2002 after students at UCD began asking why there was no organised voluntary experience for students at the University. Tony Coote and Aoife Fitzgerald two staff of the University contacted the Sisters of Jesus and Mary in Delhi in India. Through this contact they were referred to the NGO Society for Working Life who agreed to facilitate a student group. In the summer of 2003 the first group traveled abroad under the title ‘Delhi 2003'.
During that summer the group worked on a number of literacy projects organised by Prayas a local NGO, renovated a community centre in a slum outside Delhi and worked at the orphanage for mentally and physically disabled children in Jan Pura run by the Missionaries of Charity. This trip was organised as a one off! However, those who took part valued the experience and their enthusiasm ensured that other groups would be afforded that same chance that they had been given.
UCD Volunteers Overseas registered as a charity in 2004. The first board were: Tony Coote, Aoife Fitzgerald, Owen Fallon, Elizabeth Fuller, Colin Quinn, Sarah Jolley and Aodhàn Kavanagh. Since 2004 approximately 30 students have traveled every summer to Delhi to work on various projects with several local NGOs. Literacy projects continue at the SWL centre and St. Anthony's Education Centre which was built by UCDVO in 2008. Funding for the construction of this school was provided by Irish Aid.
An annual program was established in 2004 with the Salaam Baalak Trust, a home for street children many of whom have been abused. While the relationship with the Jan Pura orphanage has been extended to focus on physiotherapy.
In 2005 the first group traveled to Haiti to work on projects in the town of Gros Morne. Haiti at this time was probably one of the most isolated countries in the world. Kidnappings and random violence had ensured that many people and Aid agencies had stayed away. Therefore it was a groundbreaking trip for this charity. We were hosted by the sisters of Jesus and Mary who have worked there for ten years and the local town committee. They provided security and welcomed us warmly.
Approximately 30 students worked on various small scale projects in 2005 and 2006 including environmental protection, running a sports camp, basic renovation of a centre for the elderly and medical students worked at the local hospital and at a health clinic.
However, with generous support and funding from Irish Aid, Digicell, the Haven Partnership and Electric Aid we have greatly increased our scale of operation in Haiti from 2007 onwards. Extensive reforestation projects and flood prevention measures have been put in place, while the sports camps have been extended to include over 300 children. A school in Bigue has been completely renovated and more than doubled its capacity in 2007. UCDVO launched a housing project in 2008 which will continue with the first Alumni Project in December 2009, and the centre for the elderly was extended and finished in 2009.
In 2007 a group of 22 traveled to Somoto in Nicaragua to build a Health Centre. Tony Coote had visited Nicaragua in December 2006 as a guest of the then Minister of Health. In the village of San Isabel in the north of the country close to the border with Honduras village officials identified the need for health centre as their top priority. A contract was signed with the government which stated that UCDVO would fund and build the centre and that the government would supply staff. In March 2006 Conor Dunne of Fahy Fitzgerald Engineers designed a plan for a health centre that was built by UCDVO volunteers and local workers.
This partnership was continued in 2007 with the construction of another health centre. However, in parallel UCDVO have been involved with fitting improved stoves in homes around Somoto, drilling wells for the supply of water and in 2009 providing a sports facility.
UCDVO began working in Tanzania in 2009. Through contacts with the Irish Embassy in Dar es Salaam a relationship has been established with a Tanzania NGO called Tanzania English Language Development (TanzEd). TanzEd aim to improve the quality and experience of primary education and place emphasis on the importance of access to computers for improving learning.
A group of 10 UCD volunteers and two group leaders worked in partnership with TanzEd to set up computer rooms in three schools in the Morogoro region of Tanzania. Volunteers also provided basic computer training for teachers. Links have been established with “Camara” for the collection and transport of computers and volunteers have been engaging in the Camara training courses.
UCD Volunteers Overseas has recently received formal recognition as a university society while also retaining its charitable status. This has given UCDVO a much stronger and more stable position within the university and will enable access to the support and facilities necessary for its future development.