Maria prepares to volunteer in India
Dundalk student Maria Dawe is preparing to teach in an Indian school this summer, as part of a voluntary project run by Irish charity Suas.
‘It is something that I’ve always wanted to do,’ Maria told the Argus.
A third year student at Trinity College, Dublin, she will join a number of Irish volunteers teaching in either Calcutta or a rural community school in India.
Maria explained that her inspiration for voluntary work was her dad Mickey, a member of Dundalk Fire Service, who travelled to Niger in Africa to deliver a fire engine to the community there.
‘I think since then I knew I wanted to volunteer, and that it would be in the area of education,’ said Maria.
‘Suas is a fantastic Irish organisation that supports quality education for children in Ireland and in developing countries,’ she explained.
‘Suas believes in providing all children with the opportunity to learn and to realise their full potential, creating positive changes in the life of the child and in the wider society.’
The Irish charity has in fact provided access to education for over 10,000 children across the world each year.
And it was against this background that Maria put her name forward for the next voluntary project.
‘I am very excited that I will soon play a part in making a difference to a child’s life.’
The Dundalk woman will be volunteering as a teaching assistant for eight weeks in some of the most disadvantaged schools in India.
The Suas Volunteer-programme offers enthusiastic young people the chance to make a difference by volunteering in community run projects in India and Zambia during the summer months.
This summer, Maria will join over 80 volunteers travelling to India and Zambia to volunteer
Volunteers work with local NGOs and schools, supporting the delivery of education in highly under-resourced communities.
Maria explained that in advance of travelling all the volunteers will take part in ‘a comprehensive training programme, aimed at equipping them to work through the challenges they will encounter overseas.’
‘We will also be trained to support the children to develop their written and spoken english.’
She exaplined that as part of the programme each volunteer is required to contribute €2,995 toward the total cost of the programme, and 100% of any additional funds raised over and above the participation fee will go directly to Partner Schools in India and Zambia.
Maria is preparing to hold several fundraisers over the next few months to reach her target.
She has also launched an online donation page - https://www.idonate.ie/mariadawe where all donations will be greatly accepted!