Volunteer Programme- another year on

For those of you who have been following this blog- and my own journey, you will have heard me mention the organisation Suas (www.suas.ie) on more than one occasion. I still feel the air time is justified. Much of my own learning about social change issues started out when I was running the Suas Volunteer Programme a few years back. It was meeting young people interested in making a difference through Suas, and meeting Suas’ partners in India and Kenya, which got me started on the ‘Exceptional Lives’ Journey; and I own a huge amount to the people behind it.

The volunteer programme has since grown from strength to strength- and last weekend saw this year’s 80 volunteer’s gather for a weekend of celebration, and reflection, on their experiences of working in education projects in India and Kenya this summer. The volunteer programme is a powerful experience in the life of a young adult- being exposed to grassroots development issues, learning about a new culture, and working as a team under often difficult circumstances.

I was lucky enough to be able to join in- and put together an exhibition of photos at the annual return reception, this year held in Maynooth College. Below are a few images;

(For those of you who may be interested in applying for the ’08 programme, applications will be open from Nov of this year. Check out www.suas.ie for updates).