EIL Intercultural Learning

EIL seed fund micro grant scheme

At EIL we believe that perhaps the most significant part of a short-term volunteer programme actually begins when participants return home. On a long-term basis, the most effective way in which volunteers can truly make a difference is to educate others about global justice and the lives of ordinary people in developing countries.

EIL recognizes that it can be difficult for returned volunteers to continue their engagement here in Ireland. They may face financial barriers, time constraints or be unable to access the necessary help and support. The EIL Seed Fund Micro Grant Scheme exists to assist returned volunteers to overcome these barriers by providing successful applicants with funding, guidance and support to implement their own awareness-raising projects.

Four projects were selected under this scheme in January 2012: Photo-exhibition focussing on Tanzania and Uganda - Paul Mckewon; Penpal project between a school in Capetown South Africa and one in Tarbert, co. Kerry - Aileen Cooper; Workshop with children and parents to learn about Zambian culture, traditions, life - Marie Kennedy; Photo Exhibition focussing on Kenya - Malachy Harty

Update on projects

Aileen Cooper

Aileen visited Tarbert National School on several occasions giving an educational presentation about her experience in South Africa and some background information on South Africa and then a refresher on this when she returned. She also displayed photos of South Africa and handed them around and played a South African music cd for the class. She worked with students in 3^rd and 4^th class (and later 5^th and 6^th class) in Kerry who then wrote letters to students in Sunnyside Primary school and they wrote back. On her most recent visit to Tarbert National School, they made a recording of music and students said hello to their penpal and Aileen will send this on a cd to the teacher in South Africa, to play for her students. The students in South Africa plan to do a recording also. At present the Irish students are waiting on letters back from South Africa. As many of the students are moving on to secondary school next year, Aileen will not be able to co-ordinate all of the letters and so she sent out a disclaimer to parents, asking if they want her to pass on their children’s addresses to the students in South Africa so they can write back directly.

Children in schools in Kerry and South Africa were able to connect with a child their own age in another country and learn about that other country. It encouraged literacy through letter writing. It initiated curiousity and interest in another country. It is hoped the students will continue to write to their penpals directly and make a long-term connection with their penpal. 

Paul McKeown

First photo exhibition took place on 9th April in a venue in Omeath village. The 9th of April was Easter Monday so this increased the amount of people who saw the exhibit as Omeath generally attracts a bit of a crowd during long weekends.

After the exhibition, Paul said: 'It was a great success with 40 people attending the exhibition in the 7 hour period. It might not seem like many but in a village of 450 people, that's good going. Some people came from as far as Dundalk and Drogheda and two ladies even came from as far as Dublin especially to see it.'

Paul gave a radio interview about his exhibition on Friday, 6 April at 10.20 on Louth Internet Radio which you can listen to here. And another one about EIL, among other things, on Friday 13 April at 11am on Louth Internet Radio which you can listen to here.

The second exhibit was in the library in Dundalk IT for four weeks starting from Monday 16th of April. It was advertised on the DKIT website and  in the newsletter.  'Getting to visit the countries of Tanzania and Uganda was a great privilege and although these countries are often portrayed as been economically poor, I found them to be very rich in culture, community spirit and initiative, something we in Ireland have forgotten. This is something I hope to portray in this exhibition and everyone is very welcome to come and see it' - said Paul.

Marie Kennedy

The workshop took place on Saturday 14^th April from 10am-1pm.  It was open to children aged between 8-12 years old. In total 16 children attended.  The workshop sought to engage children in a creative and interactive way on development issues.  A simple ice-breaker was done to introduce children to each other and to create a nice, relaxed atmosphere. Activities aimed to get children to reflect on the wider world, in particular problems faced by developing countries and life for children in Africa.  Activities included ‘Living on 0.85 cent’ and ‘Build a toy’.  Children worked in pairs to negotiate what they could purchase for 85 cent in the local supermarket.  This opened the way for a discussion on the 20% of the world’s population who live on $1 a day.

For ‘Build a Toy’, children were provided with the following plastic bags, bottles, bottles caps, wire, fish netting, string, and paper.  Using any of the materials provided children could create a toy or game.  Following their own creations, children were shown photos of children from Kaoma in Western Zambia with the toys and games they had created utilizing the same materials.  The children seemed to really enjoy the activities and it opened up a discussion in which the children could develop a greater awareness and understanding of life for children in Zambia.

The workshop increased children’s knowledge and awareness on development issues. Children gained a better understanding of the similarities and differences between their lives and life for children in Western Zambia. And lastly, children had the opportunity to mix and socialize with children from different schools and areas.                               

Malachy Harty

'Waiting for Rain', an exhibition of photographs, was on display at the Irish Aid Information and Volunteering Centre, O'Connell Street, Dublin, during the month of April. Photographer, Malachy Harty, presented images of daily life in urban and rural Kenya during the 2011 Horn of Africa Famine. Justin Kilcullen, Director of Trócaire, officially opened the exhibition on Tuesday 3rd April from 6 - 7pm. 

After the opening Malachy wrote on his blog: 'Many thanks to all who braved the bitter rain and snow showers to attend the official launch of Waiting for Rain at the Irish Aid Volunteering and Information Centre in Dublin. It was fascinating to hear Justin Kilcullen, Director of Trócaire, talk about the problems of erratic rainfall and climate change for poor smallholder farmers and slum dwellers.' Read more here. 

Quotes from the comments book: "highly thought provoking”, “excellent and informative exhibition", "I saw your beautiful photos in Volunteer Ireland centre in O'Connell, I was moved to tears, keep up the good work".

'Waiting for Rain' will be on display in the coming months in Midleton Library. More details to follow.

Application deadline