International students - what a team!

On the 12th March 2020, an enthusiastic group of 6 European students placed in Solas Project received the news that this country (and their own countries) were about to come to a standstill due to a global pandemic called Coronavirus.

On what had seemed like a normal day in our weekly routine of running the After Schools clubs, sat a very upset and tearful group of young people at the shock of this news.

Half of these students had only just embarked on their Solas Project journey full of enthusiasm and motivation.

Our three European Solidarity Corps (ESC) volunteers were half way through their year and starting to make some break throughs with the young people, bonding and building trust and beginning to see an impact. This came as a shock to everyone, the non ESC students being forced to turn on their heels on return flights home…the ESC volunteers holding out to see what they could do remotely. No one knew how long this would go on for.

Then, in August 2020 three keen ESC volunteers took a risk to travel to Dublin within the limitations imposed at a national and international level in the knowledge that they could potentially get stuck here through various lockdowns which followed.

Our team was greatly reduced throughout this time and their dedication through to August 2021 was admirable.

In August 2021 another three European ESC volunteers, and one volunteer from the USA continued the hard work to support staff to keep everything running smoothly in the After School clubs. With the number of volunteers both from Ireland and abroad significantly reduced due to Covid19 concerns it was a small team and it is fair to say it was tough at times!

That was until February 2022 when our ESC volunteers did not know what hit them (in the best possible way) with an influx of students from Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany arriving to join the team, two more arrived in April, and another in May 2022. It’s fair to say that this has been a unique time for the After Schools clubs, particularly in the light of the last few years.

Together with an incredible band of reliable and quality local volunteers giving up at least one afternoon per week, the team of social work students and ESC volunteers have formed a robust volunteer team!

Not only have they worked remarkably well as a team, the students and volunteers have become friends choosing to spend their free time together outside of the clubs.

The bond in this group is apparent to any onlooker and has filtered down to the children in the After Schools who have benefitted from their positivity, consistency and solidarity with the wider group of staff and volunteers.

The students went above and beyond showing initiative and flair - for example they created some new resources with the support of our staff such as a sex education course for young people.

One of the students, personally familiar with living with a disability, developed and ran an equality workshop with the Junior After Schools group working on ways we can be inclusive, respectful, and show admiration for each other’s differences.

Students have used their artistic abilities to creatively set up new spaces, to run special events, and also to partake in photography around the local Liberties area.

We’ve seen them be pushed out of their comfort zone. One ESC volunteer Sarah, made a speech at our volunteer celebration in front of over 60 people. A group of the students participated in a local school’s multi cultural week in May, each of the students have been involved in our Solas @ School Sports programmes, including our Rugby Blitz 2022 with over 400 kids.

Thanks to our ongoing team of volunteers and students, we are able to create a space for young people to grow their motivation and self-worth.

At the same time we get to see the students and ESC themselves grow remarkably in confidence and flourish.

We want to say a big thank you to the volunteer class of 2022. It has been to see a group of young people volunteering free to make the most of their time in Solas Project and in Ireland, thanks to lifted restrictions, and freedom of movement again.

We’re looking forward to welcome more local and international volunteers over the next few weeks and months.

It’s an honour to provide a space for life-long learning for those helping us run the programmes, as well as the young people and children participating.