International volunteering - student stories

Whilst volunteering overseas has had to pause due to Covid-19, many students have continued to help out globally by volunteering on remote projects or in their home countries. Here are some examples of what students have been up to.

Yeshas Kuntamalla, 3rd year Mechanical Engineering.

Yeshas volunteered on business projects with Azizi Life, a social enterprise in Rwanda supporting Artisans to sell their crafts around the world and build sustainable livelihoods.

Holly Vipond, 3rd year International Disaster Management and Humanitarian Response.

After volunteering with Barnabus in Manchester was paused due to Covid, Holly began volunteering online with Tanzania Development Trust.

'In 2nd year, I volunteered twice a week doing a breakfast shift at Beacon Barnabus, a homeless organisation in Gay Village. The shifts included preparing breakfast and getting to know those who used the service. It was a really great experience which was sadly cut short due to covid, but definitely something I would do again in the future! Recently, I’ve become a social media coordinator for Tanzania Development Trust (TDT), who provide funding to a wide range of grassroots projects in Tanzania with focus on topics such as FGM/female sexual health, clean water, business empowerment and education. I work with a small team to control social media channels (mainly Instagram) in which we aim to provide greater awareness for the work TDT do.' Read more stories about HCRI students volunteering here.

Mariam El Dawy, 2nd year Law, Ruy De Oliveira Scalamandre, 2nd year Politics, and Hebat Salameh, 2nd year Medicine.

Three friends, in Dubai at the time due to Covid, responded to the devastating Beirut explosion in August 2020 by fundraising and collecting and delivering food and essential items to the Red Cross.