Two Tipperary women head for Africa on volunteer programme with 'SERVE'

Two county Tipperary locals, Edith Carroll and Sarah Ryan will travel to Lusaka, Zambia, to participate in a four-week volunteering programme led by SERVE.

They will travel with a group of 12 people from Ireland. In Zambia, Sarah and Edith will spend two weeks working with Young Africa Lusaka before continuing to the next placement in Mazabuka called the Assumption Parish Youth project.

Sarah Ryan works for NIB travel on the emergency assistance line. She is interested in sports and travel. “I love helping people and my current job helps to fulfil this.” she says.

Having spent 10 years working as a secondary school teacher, Edith Carroll has decided to go back to college and is currently completing a degree in psychology. “While it has been really challenging juggling sport, work, and college, I’ve loved every minute of it – it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made!’.

Footballer, Edith Carroll has a long history with voluntary work. Edith shares, “I’ve a huge interest in people and particularly those who are vulnerable or who haven't the same opportunities that Ihave. The empathy instilled in me by my parents from a very young age has probably been the single biggest driving force in my career choice, my volunteering and my studies.”

Edith adds, “I’ve volunteered with SERVE twice before, once when I did my first undergrad in 2013 where we travelled as a student group to Brazil to work with Caritas on a building project... At home, I volunteer with ALONE as a befriender. I’ve built a great friendship with my new friend Michael since I started visiting him in February and we’ve been on lots of adventures and we have plenty more planned.”

For Sarah, this is her first-time volunteering. “Although I helped with camps, bag packing etc., in my local community, when I was younger, I have never done anything like this before. I felt like I had time to give and am at the perfect age to spend a month abroad in Zambia.”

SERVE’s work with their partners to contribute to the Global Goals. There are 17 Global Goals that offer a roadmap for peace and prosperity for all people and the planet.  

The SERVE volunteer programme aims to build bridges between communities and evokes the spirit of solidarity in Irish people with the communities they’ll work in. 

Edith explains, “SERVE is not just a one-off volunteering programme. SERVE works with people young and old in Ireland to help them to understand the global issues that we face. The training days educate and emotionally prepare volunteers for their overseas experience as well as sharing SERVE’s strong dignity-based ethos of ‘serving in solidarity’.’  

The SERVE Volunteer Programme was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this summer, SERVE will be sending almost thirty volunteers to Mozambique, Zambia and India.  

Laura Canning, SERVE’s Global Citizenship Education (GCE) and Volunteer Programme Coordinator says, “National Volunteer Week has just went by and witnessing the journey of all our volunteers is an extreme joy. It's great to be able to send volunteers overseas to our partners for the first time in three years... We are really looking forward to seeing the impact that the GCE Programme has on our volunteers when they return and how they put their learning into practice through active global citizenship.” 

Sarah also urged others to sign up to SERVE, “Applications open in November for new volunteers, I highly recommend signing up. I have a business background, others are students, some are teachers. No matter your area, you can help with the skills and qualities you bring. Also, you should reach out to your company/ job for support with annual leave/finance.” 

Join SERVE newsletter on serve.ie to follow Edith and Sarah’s active global citizenship journey.