Volunteering at the Community Sponsorship Group for Refugees

Since I started my studies at the Irish Centre for Human Rights in September, I knew that finding ways to get involved in activities would allow me to truly immerse myself in Irish culture. After joining a few societies and clubs, I knew it was time to also give back to the community by volunteering.

While researching opportunities, I found that the ALIVE website offers a wide range of volunteering activities focused on the environment, international cooperation, supporting education, access to food, and many others.

Eventually, I stumbled upon the Community Sponsorship Group (CSG), a national initiative dedicated to welcoming and supporting refugee students in various cities across Ireland. The national programme is powered by NASC, an Irish NGO that aims to secure the inclusive settlement of refugees in their host communities, with the support of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). As I researched more about this initiative, I found its main purpose is directly linked to my LLM in International Migration and Refugee Law and Policy, and decided to look no further.

According to UNHCR, only 5% of refugees have access to higher education worldwide. Because of this, the University of Galway pioneered the EU-Passworld Scholarship Programme in 2022, which has since provided opportunities for refugees from various countries to access a fully funded scholarship, while the CSG assists them in securing work placements, finding accommodation, and facilitating their integration in Galway. The programme set an important precedent for other universities to follow in Cork and Dublin, changing the lives of many refugees.

The CSG, however, is not only composed of university students. Civil society hosting refugees includes local business owners, members of the church, and the Galway community in general. In fact, during our CSG’s first meeting, I was happily surprised to find a diverse and enthusiastic group of people from various areas of study, some ex-fellows from the refugee program from past years, university staff, and even some of my own classmates eager to contribute to the group!

Our CSG team at University of Galway is committed to developing exciting fundraising activities to support this important cause. Throughout the school year, we are planning to host movie nights, Mario Kart PlayStation tournaments, pub quizzes, snack-refill stations for exams, themed parties, and more!

As we continue to find ways for refugees to feel welcomed, this year we also want to focus on them being key actors involved in sharing their culture, traditions, and history with their host community in Galway. This year’s refugees will be at the centre of all our activities, and we are happy to welcome anyone in Galway who is interested in promoting ideas, securing partnerships with local businesses, attracting donors, or supporting the Community Sponsorship activities as they take place between 2025 and 2026.

Other ways people from the Galway community can support us include donating directly, following our social media platforms @csgalway, sharing our posts, and participating in our events. 

Words and images thanks to Paula Córdova, LLM International Migration & Refugee Law and Policy.