Partnership with UCD Volunteers Overseas

Hilary Minch, UCDVO Manager reports:

I  write this on a damp, autumnal evening, in Co. Wicklow Ireland. I recently spent four days with Sr Annette, Sr. Fides, Sr. Emiliana and the Community in a very hot, dry Mbagala, Dar es Salaam.

The purpose of the visit was to learn more about the work of the Holy Union Sisters and to plan for the 2023 UCDVO volunteering project with the Matumaini Centre.

Over those few days (my first visit since December 2019), we exchanged stories about the pandemic, met some of the community who access the vital services in the Matumaini Centre, visited the schools and travelled by bajaji to see the foundations of the new health centre in Churwi.

My overall impression is that the Holy Union Sisters are at the heart of this marginalized community, responding to the needs and listening to the wisdom of local knowledge. There is also a modesty in the considerable achievements – children and young people’s lives are turned around by being able to return to education in COBET; mothers (and some fathers) have somewhere welcoming to go with their children with disabilities, are less isolated, and are given some hope for the future in the bright and happy Matumaini Centre.

UCDVO is a small charity based in University College Dublin, Ireland. Our vision is of a vibrant, global community working together for a fair and sustainable world. We do this in collaboration with UCD and partners, by creating opportunities for transformative learning and responsible volunteering. I am excited about the next stage of our partnership with the Holy Union Sisters, building on the virtual volunteering pilot with the Matumaini Centre in 2021.

The Holy Union Sisters’ resourcefulness, tenacity and truly living the spirit of service left me uplifted as I returned home to Ireland.

Thank you for the warm welcome and friendship.

Hilary Minch