Development Education

EIL Development Education members raising awareness of the international impact of AIDS.

Deved members preparing for an event to raise awareness in Cork of the 60th anniversary of the declaration of Human Rights.

EIL Deved members who attended a writing workshop organised by Health and Development Networks to help volunteers promote their causes.

Development Education is about raising awareness and promoting understanding of development issues. But it is more than that - it aims to empower people to take action by encouraging them to think critically about what connects the lives of people across the world, rich and poor. After participating in an EIL Programme, you are part of the EIL Network and you are invited to take part in our development education activities and events aimed at promoting global justice and respect among the peoples of the world.

We believe that your travel, exchange programme or volunteer experience overseas should be followed by actions in order to effect positive change here in Ireland. We ask you to be the voice of the people you worked and lived with and to highlight their experiences of poverty and inequality. We encourage you to understand and educate others about the circumstances and root causes that make people vulnerable, the work the local projects are doing to help bring about real change in people’s lives. We also encourage you to challenge stereotypes and prejudice and help other people to understand how their actions at a an individual, community, national and international level can positively affect the life of people in the Majority World.

Act together with us for a more just and equal society, you can really make a difference!

Upcoming events

Welcome Back Day!

Time: 25 September 2010 - 10:45am - 3:30pm

November Network Weekend

Time: 13 November 2010 - 12:00am - 14 November 2010 - 2:15pm

News

The Power of Naija (2)

Jack Hamilton, from co.Down, volunteered in Nigeria during the summer 2010, on return he shares his experience with us.

I found that it was immediately impossible to put the experience into a concise article as ‘Nigeria’ itself refuses to be categorised. The people identify themselves primarily through their tribe rather than nationality, the international press fails to account for the complexity of the country and therefore any stereotype of Nigeria is doomed to be extremely limited if not entirely false.

The Power of Naija (1)

Jack Hamilton, from co.Down, volunteered in Nigeria during the summer 2010, on return he shares his experience with us.

The fact of the matter is that Nigeria is an incredibly vast and complex nation, most of which is not represented by newsworthy stories that seep from the problematic Oil Delta Region and in more recent times, the Middle Belt.

The majority of this article was written while on my way to the airport to leave Nigeria. The bus bounced and cajoled its way from Osogbo to Lagos as I sat with my head out the window, as far as common sense would permit. Dust battered my face as the sun set over the forests of palms trees and the reckless driver veered between potholes and oncoming tankers as if the two were equal obstacles. This, for me, was Nigeria. A complete barrage on the senses but in an utterly addictive way.

There are no innocent victims of HIV and AIDS.

The Betrayal of Tea

People at home have stopped asking if I would like a cup of tea, simply because they know my reply will be yes! All my family, friends and even most acquintances know how much I love my tea! Before I left for South Africa my mom asked if I was going to bring tea bags with me and when I replied no, she was shocked.

Cape Town and The Cape: Orientation Overdrive

My first week here in South Africa was hectic. It started as it meant to go on as well! After being in Cape Town for a few hours, and just meeting my orientation group, we all decided to hike to the top of Table Mountain for our first day.

In Good Hands at the HIV centre in Kayamandi

I’m into week three at this stage, which means I'm starting to get used to the place. By no means would I say that I know the ins and out of Kayamandi, the shacks are like mazes with only tiny routes going through them all. My mental GPS is quite confused still when it comes to navigating around the shacks, shack E157 could be right in front of you and then, shack D89 beside it. So it's safe to say I'm still getting the hang of things.

Count down

Hi everyone! Hope you are all well! Nigeria is still a delightful muddle to me:) I feel like a count down has begun today as I was reminded of the date by one of the students in my computer class. Up until now I have been concentrating on the days of the week to forget the return to Ireland. Work is still so interesting!

South Africa : Chicken feet for dinner?! Kayamandi so far..!

Once I had got to the volunteer hostel in Cape Town I met lots of other volunteers,and ofcourse the generic volunteer conversation was had, this little almost interview like chat is generally to break the ice and to find out the core details. It goes along the lines of your name, where your from, how long you are here from and then; what project you are working on. Generally, I managed to get by the first 3 parts with no problems, I can say that most of the time, I succesfully managed to tell people my name, nationality and length of stay with absolutely no problems!

Having the time of my life in Nigeria.

I'm in the third week on the global awareness programme in Nigeria,Where to start? The area we are in and the country as a whole is like a cultural oasis. So many things like the food (incredibly spicy and eaten without cutlery), the customs (using your left hand for many things is rude), the transport (the main way of getting around is by motorcycle taxi and helmets are non-existent) and the conditions (electricity goes several times a day) are unlike anything we are used to.

Keep on Blogging!!!

I have been TOLD to keep on blogging! So I have set up another blog for while I am in SA and working on my thesis on HIV & AIDS and Nutrition....here is the link...http://bit.ly/9S9he7...

Photos & Videos

Click to watch World Humanitarian Day: 19th of August 2010:

The 2010 World Humanitarian Day project is a collaborative film shot in over 40 countries in under 9 weeks, on a shoestring budget - with the goal of showing the enormous diversity of places, faces and endeavours of humanitarian aid workers in 2010.

It was filmed by humanitarian staff and freelance filmmakers from around the globe (over 50 contributors in total) with all time donated.

Click to watch First tank: Joseph McLean is spending 6 months volunteering in Huehuetenango, Guatemala where he’s working with rural communities to help with the construction and maintenance of Wells, Greenhouses, Rainwater Harvesting, Latrines and Crop Irrigation systems.

Access to clean water can be difficult particularly during the dry season, supplies are limited and often a long distance from the families that need it. This video he prepared which demonstrates the technique he used to help construct from basic materials semi-underground water tanks capable of holding around eight thousand litres. Water is channelled from the gutters of the houses into the tanks, providing a ready and clean supply of water for each family.

Click to watch Human Trafficking in Ireland : During the April network weekend, Gillian Wylie (TCD)& Gillian Kennedy (Immigrant Council of Ireland)facilitated a workshop on Human trafficking. Mark Moore - EIL Development Education Committee member interviewed them

Click to watch EIL Global Awareness Volunteers 2009: Each year 4 people participate on the EIL Global Awareness Programme, a training,volunteering and Awareness Raising Project focusing on HIV&AIDS. In 2009 Lynda, Ciara, Karen and Barry received a training on HIV&AIDS, they volunteered for 8 weeks in Africa and they lead an awareness raising campaign on their return.

Click to watch We do care: The Irish Government has made a commitment to the worlds poorest and most vulnerable people to spend 0.7% of our national income on overseas aid by 2012. Thats just 70cent in every €100 by 2012.

Despite this promise, Irelands overseas aid budget has been cut by €222 million, a cut of 24%. We are now in real danger of breaking our promise.

These cuts drastically affect the lives and livelihoods of many vulnerable people around the world and the cuts are already having an impact.

Even in these difficult times, we dont care any less about people living in poverty around the world. We must honour our commitment to reach 0.7% by 2012.

This is a video of volunteers from the EIL Ireland Network collecting signatures in Cork. Please send a message to the government by visiting this link http://wedocare.ie

Click to watch The Miniature Earth: A short YouTube video offering a perspective on the global community, the issues that unite and divide us. Imagine the world population reduced to a village of 100 people, it would look something like this...

60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Right: Mark Moore (in the middle) and other EIL Volunteers on the street

Pre-Departure Workshop, May 2009: the Volunteers

The Rock overlooking Abeokuta, we weren't called fake whitepeople as the guide called some other tourists!

EIL Workshop & Street Action on Human Trafficking in Ireland

Noel Carroll during an art workshop on overseas budget cuts