Time spent Volunteering overseas is a life changing event that will stay with you for a lifetime but the journey doesn’t end there! Once you return home to Ireland you can make use of the unique experience you have had and the perspective you have gained by supporting local and national organisations in Ireland. Your valuable insight into the issues of global justice can help raise awareness here, break stereotypes and prejudices and highlight the courage and ingenuity of the people in the communities you lived in.

There are many excellent organisations working on domestic and global issues of social justice. Read the section We Support below to find a list of a number of charities, NGO’s and not-for-profits whose work we support. Perhaps one of these is the right fit for you.

The Debriefing Workshop (Welcome Back Weekend) is a chance to celebrate the return of all the volunteers, meet with other EIL Network members and have fun together! It also offers you an opportunity to reflect on your experience of volunteering overseas and share it with other volunteers as well as exploring what you can do here in Ireland to make a difference. The Debriefing Workshop (Welcome Back Weekend) is held in Dublin in September of each year. For further details contact  021 4551535.

 

Take Action in your Community

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As an Explore volunteer you lived and worked with people in local communities in some of the most unequal areas in the world. The lives of the world’s most disadvantaged people are being affected by the policies of our governments, the actions of our companies, and the products we choose to buy.

You can use your voice and your power as a returned volunteer, citizen and consumer to help build a more just world!

Share your experience

Change the way that your friends, neighbours and colleagues think about development. Use your skills and talents and create events to inform and educate the public on global issues such as poverty, social justice and HIV&AIDS:

  • Visit schools and share your experience: speak about the project you worked in, the community in which you lived, the social issues you were confronted with, the diverse culture.
  • Talk to the media: write to the local and national newspapers to raise concerning issues or share your volunteer experience
  • Organise a photo exhibition at your university or in your community centre
  • Run a quiz in a Pub on a special topic (i.e. HIV&AIDS, Trade)
  • Organize a film showing and debate at your university or workplace

EIL can support you in the preparation of events and provide you with suggestions of useful resources. Call 021 4551535.

Volunteer in Ireland

Get involved with local, national and international organisations that are fighting for social justice in Ireland. They need your help with campaigning, awareness raising, outreach, fundraising and direct support.

Check out Volunteer Irelands website for a listing of all open volunteer roles around the country and see We Support tab here for a listing of organisations that our volunteers have enjoyed being part of.

Change your lifestyle

Buy Fairtrade and community trade products and be an aware consumer.

Find out about the products you buy, the holidays you take and the services you use – were the workers given a decent wage, do they have rights, what about the impact on the environment?

Find here more information

  • FairTrade Mark Ireland – Fairtrade Mark Ireland awards a consumer label, the FAIRTRADE Mark, to products which meet internationally recognised standards of Fairtrade.
  • Ethical Consumer – a consumer organisation which researches the social and enviromental records of companies.
  • Ethicscore – Ethical Consumer’s online shoppers guide.

Keep yourself informed about world development issues

You can continue to learn and be challenged by learning about your former host country after you return home. This new information can bring a new perspective to your experiences and enhance the information you share with others. 

  • Keep your eyes open for lectures, seminars or conferences that focus on the region or issue most prevalent in your volunteer experience, or those which examine development, inequality and interculturalism. See the Talks and Events section on the We Support Tab 

Get Involved with EIL

  • Attend a Network Weekend
  • Use a Workshop kit to run a workshop in your community
  • Apply for a Seedfund to create an interesting project
  • Join the EIL Network and get updates about development education activities and training
  • Complete the Global Citizen Award

We Support

We support the following organisations in their work in the below categories:

Campaigning, Advocacy and Awareness Raising

School Outreach and Development Education

Fundraising

Events, Talks and Seminars

Homelessness Support

Community and Befriending Support