Ireland: Volunteer Charity group win 2024 Human Dignity Award

The 2024 Human Dignity Award was presented to the Zambia Appeal Group in Leinster House (Parliament) in Dublin recently by the Ceann Comhairle (Speaker), Seán Ó Fearghaíl TD in recognition of the Group's work in Zambia over the last 25 years.

The ceremony was attended by Archbishop Luis Mariano Montemyor, Papal Nuncio to Ireland.

The Award Scheme, now in its eight year, is organised annually by the All Party Oireachtas Human Dignity Group led by Senator Rónán Mullen. The presentation ceremony is followed by a fundraising dinner in the restaurant in Leinster House from which the profit goes to the recipient.

The Zambia Appeal Group (ZAG) is a small voluntary group set up in 1999 to support the work of a volunteer, Maureen O'Dwyer, who spent over six years working in Zambia. Following Maureen's return to Ireland, the Group has continued to support many of the projects in which she was involved as a volunteer, and also new projects. ZAG is now a registered charity. There are no overhead or administration costs and all members of the Group work on a voluntary basis

The projects it supports are well known to the Group and include activities that would not be funded by large donors. Over the years it has helped to establish livelihood projects, chicken rearing, bakery, carpentry projects and it enables hundreds of children to access education. The Group supports school/college fees for children with special needs and other vulnerable children, school equipment and educational materials and also help with medical care including basic orthopaedic surgery.

The Group organise two major fundraising events annually - carol singing outside the GPO on Dublin's O'Connell Street before Christmas and a table quiz in February. These are very popular events.

The Secretary of the Group, Maureen O'Dwyer, said they are delighted to have been chosen as a recipient of the prestigious award. "Apart from the recognition factor, the financial contribution will be a major boost to the help we will be able to give to our selected projects in the coming year", she said.

(Matt Moran is an author and writer living in Cork. He has written an authoritative book on 'The Legacy of Irish Missionaries Lives On' which also details the work of Irish volunteers in development work in the Global South).