Comhlámh: the Irish association of volunteers and development workers wants you!
Comhlámh is a member and supporter organisation open to anyone interested in social justice, human rights and global development issues. Comhlámh was set-up in 1975 by a group of returned volunteers and development workers to “further international development co-operation”. We provide supports and services to volunteers and development workers and volunteer sending agencies, in order to tackle global inequality. Comhlámh strongly recommends that anyone thinking about volunteering should only travel with a volunteer sending agency that has signed up to our Code of Good Practice, which is a framework of 11 principles that ensure responsible and responsive volunteering practices.
Over the past number of years, it’s becoming evident that volunteers are going overseas for shorter and shorter periods (less than four weeks) and the volunteers themselves are getting younger and younger. In order to balance this trend, we would love to see people with more life and work experience applying for roles which will be mutually beneficial to the host project and to the volunteers themselves. Returned volunteer Sara McMurray said about her volunteering experience in India that “I had always loved to travel, but had not expected, after retirement, to be able to set out on such a great adventure as volunteering offered. I felt that, as a retired person, my experience of life was important and useful in the work I did. The Indian organisation I worked for had very many young volunteers, and was appreciative of more mature volunteers”.
Thinking about volunteering can be exciting, exhilarating and terrifying, which is why we in Comhlámh are here to guide you through the options and available roles you think you might be suited to. You can arrange to come into the office for a chat or we can advise you on the phone, through email or via our social media channels. If you are public servant who is thinking about a career break, we can also offer you advice on how your public service pension scheme will be managed while you are away, even if you decide to do a two year placement! Or perhaps overseas volunteering isn’t for you this year….well how about you get involved in one of our many member groups here in Dublin, Belfast or hopefully Galway in the new year?
If you would like to know more about the Code, our supports and services, our member groups or other events and activities, please follow the links below or email info@comhlamh.org to arrange to come into the office for a longer chat.
We’re here to help you.
Telephone: 01 478 3490
