Our Story - It All Started With A Simple Need

In 2002, VLM was established.

Since then, VLM volunteers of all ages and backgrounds have been making valuable contributions in the sectors of education, health, community development and sustainable livelihoods through sharing their gifts, skills and experience, often times in challenging environments.

In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in a little school called Atse, hidden behind corrugated iron gates on a twisty back lane built on the slopes of a stream, a little miracle of education happening. The school was being run by the Daughters of Charity and in 2002, Fr. Michael McCullagh CM visited them while in Ethiopia and the first two volunteers travelled later that year.

In 2004, The work of VLM expanded into the Tigray region of Ethiopia. In this war-torn area volunteers taught English, music, art, and sport, helping children to grow in self-esteem. One volunteer also travelled to Guatemala in 2004.

In 2006, Projects run by the Vincentian Fathers and Daughters of Charity across Ethiopia began hosting VLM volunteers.

In 2009, VLM volunteers travelled to Nigeria for the first time, to work in the De Paul School in Enugu.

In 2016, VLM expanded into West Africa when the first VLM volunteers travelled to Ghana. Kathleen Conlon and Vincent Conway did a needs assessment, and volunteers have been placed in the Street Advocacy Project in Kumasi since.

A VLM volunteer travelled to Burkina Faso in 2018. Unfortunately, safety concerns here have meant that the volunteer programme has as yet been unable to be expanded.

In 2019, VLM placed volunteers in Thigio, Kenya. Brenda and Malachy McKernan volunteered in projects run by the Daughters of Charity. Since then, volunteers have worked in Thigio, Matisi and Kamulu.

School

The global Covid-19 pandemic caused the VLM volunteer programme to stop. This coincided with civil conflict in Ethiopia, making the country unsafe to visit. However, a Vincentian priest in Tanzania asked for VLM volunteers to come and in 2022, Luke Hogan and Grainne Malone taught at the De Paul School in Songea. Volunteers still travel to Songea as well as to Matisi to projects run by the Daughters of Charity.

Since the foundation of VLM in 2002, over 500 volunteers have travelled to projects in Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Guatemala and Tanzania, working in many projects such as schools and kindergartens, women’s groups, training teachers, with children who are deaf, health projects and much more.
Today, VLM continues to send adults aged 18+ to volunteers overseas and has a schools immersion programme for 17-year-old students and their teachers. An innovative ‘Parent and Son/Daughter’ volunteer programme is also being piloted.

Scroll to Top