Brazil housing project trip for Kilkee’s Eileen

Kilkee’s Eileen Kelly, who is a speech and language therapy student at NUIG, will travel to South America in June for five weeks as part of NUI Galway’s annual overseas volunteering programme.

The 15-person group, which will include two UL students, will work on a building project in the favelas of Parnaiba, Parnaiba, Brazil. Their stay will incorporate community development work and the provision of water and sanitation. The students will travel under the auspices of the Irish charity SERVE. The chaplaincy at NUI Galway has organised a summer overseas volunteering opportunity for students for many years.
In a missive written to outline the primary aim of the 15 students who will travel to Brazil, Eileen Kelly said that they hope to experience a way of life they haven’t encountered to date.
“The underlying expectation of the group is to experience a culture in a way that would not have been possible before we came in contact with SERVE. The group stressed the importance of witnessing the undoubtedly beneficial impact the construction of houses will have on the Brazilian families. Whilst apprehensive about the language barrier, our group hopes to embrace the native Portuguese tongue and show the families we will be working with that we both respect and admire their culture,” Eileen explained.
“Many volunteers expressed an interest in how exactly this difference in language will manifest itself on the building site and look forward to many days of embarrassing attempts to speak Portuguese. The construction of new homes for 10 families was unequivocally the driving force behind many volunteers’ motivations. Many expressed a desire to construct homes that would ultimately change the lives of families in Paranaiba. By leaving a profound physical mark on the landscape, we hope to leave the legacy of SERVE volunteers behind for decades to come,” she added.
Building houses aside, the group hope that their time in Brazil will broaden their horizons.
“Our group hopes to experience poverty in a way that will not only change us as people but make us want to change the attitudes of those around us. Many volunteers expressed the desire to push themselves beyond their comfort zone and to really immerse themselves in the daily lives of the families we hope to help. Getting involved with the local community, engaging and partaking in their culture, seemed to be one of the most important goals of the trip,” Eileen noted.
“On a personal note, I hope to gain a true understanding of what it means to be on the poverty line and to witness firsthand the hardship these families endure. I am aware the cliché of wanting to make a difference is over used. However, that is exactly how I and my fellow volunteers feel. We want to make a difference. We want to impact the lives of these people in a positive way and to leave a legacy of solidarity in Paranaiba.
Although we feel apprehensive about five weeks in a foreign country, 8,278km from home, I can say, on behalf of the group, that we cannot wait to get started,” Eileen Kelly concluded.