Gorta was the first Third World development organisation to be set up
in Ireland. It was established by the Department of Agriculture in
1965 as the permanent body to evolve from the Irish Freedom from
Hunger Campaign - part of an international campaign initiated by the
Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.
In the early years, the council of Gorta, made up of representatives
from all facets of Irish life, were appointed by the Minister for
Agriculture. In 1978, GORTA started setting up voluntary fundraising committees around the country with the aim of having one committee in each of the 26 counties. Each committee would do it’s own fundraising, report it’s activities to Gorta Head Office and fund specific Gorta projects each year so all of the money raised by the committee would go directly to that project. Over the years these voluntary committees have proved to be excellent vehicles for communicating to and mobilising the concerned people of Ireland. Many committees have come and gone in that time but the projects that they have funded continue on as a lasting testament to the hard work of the people involved.
In 1979 the Department of Foreign Affairs took over responsibility for the campaign from the Department of Agriculture and in 1998 Gorta relinquished it’s formal links with the government to become an autonomous NGO.
In 1970, Gorta expanded its fund-raising efforts and opened its first
Charity Shop at 32 Liffey Street, Dublin. Since then, GORTA has
opened shops in Cork, Skibbereen, Bandon, Macroom, Mallow,
Portlaoise, Carlow and Limerick. These
shops are staffed by volunteer workers and take in donations of
clothes, bric-a-brac and books for re-sale. The shops not only
provide a way for Gorta to raise funds to help the poorest of the
poor but also benefit the local Irish communities where they are
situated.
| Carlow |
4 Burrin Street, Carlow. | Ph: 0502-30595 |
| Cork |
90 North Main Street, Cork City. | Ph: 021-4254608 |
| | Market Street, Skibbereen, Co Cork. | Ph: 028-22744 |
| |
6 Pearse Street, Bandon, Co Cork. | Ph: 023-41444 |
| |
102 Main Street, Mallow, Co Cork. | Ph: 022-43700 |
| |
South Square, Macroom, Co Cork. | Ph: 026-42188 |
|
Dublin |
32, Lower Liffey Street, Dublin 1. | Ph: 01-8731155 |
| |
136 Capel Street, Dublin7. | Ph: 01-8748044 |
| |
| |
|
Laois
| 5 Kelton House, Portlaoise, Co Laois. | Ph: 05786-22966 |
|
Limerick
| 23 High Street, Limerick. | Ph: 061-310833 |
Shop News
New Shop in Mallow
There was an official opening of Gorta's new shop premises in Mallow, Co Cork on Friday 1st October by Councillor Joe Sherlock. There was also an ecumenical blessing of the premises by represenatives from the local churches. Music and light refreshments followed by an open day in the afternoon.
A Visitor from The Gambia
In May 2004 volunteers and customers of Gorta Shops had a first hand account of the benefits derived from their hard work and patronage respectively, when Mr Mamsamba Joof, Executive Director of the Agency for the Development of Women and Children (ADWAC) in The Gambia, West Africa, paid a recent visit.
ADWAC is a local indigenous, non-governmental organisation based in the North Bank Division of The Gambia. Local staff work on programmes of integrated rural development to bring about sustainable improvements in rural living conditions, with particular emphasis being placed upon the well being of women and children.
The partnership between Gorta and ADWAC began two years ago when ADWAC approached Gorta to help them to overcome the inter-related problems of environmental degradation and food insecurity. Gorta has been supporting similar projects for forty years, and with Gortas expertise in long-term rural development and ADWACs determination and local knowledge, great work has been achieved.
In the relatively short time that ADWAC and Gorta have worked together six access bridges have been built over small tributaries of the River Gambia to give access to reclaimed arable land for rice production. Women are the main producers of rice which is the staple diet for Gambians. In order to reduce the amount of physical labour on women and the time taken to prepare the fields for the sowing of seeds, a tractor has been provided and motorbikes and a vehicle are available for the local development team to travel to villages to provide extensive, appropriate training in agriculture, health care, advocacy and decision making and literary.
The next project that will be supported by Gorta involves soil conservation and flood damage reduction. Currently women are, at best, able to produce food for nine months of the year, the remaining three months from July to September are known as the hungry months. During this time pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and children suffer from malnutrition. One of the objectives of the programmes implemented by ADWAC is to enable women to produce enough food for year round consumption, and eventually to have surplus for sale or barter to supplement the family income. The new project is also concerned with forestry training to prevent further degradation of a much needed but limited resource. The education of girls will be made possible by encouraging women to save in local credit schemes in order to pay school fees and buy uniforms and books. Education is the key to successful development and the education of women is an intrinsic element of this development.
The average Gambian lives on €1 per day. This is something we in the developed world find difficult to conceive. We, the developed world, live in a “disposable” society , we waste food and throw away clothes, shoes and household items simply because we are bored with them. That is where Gorta can help. Through the tireless and hard work of dedicated teams, Gorta is able to turn your unwanted (but saleable) wares into cash which is used to support projects for and by determined and capable communities in The Gambia, Zambia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Liberia, Brazil and India to name but a few, to rise out of hunger and poverty and live productive and full lives. If you have surplus items of clothing, shoes, jewellery, books etc or if you have some spare time, why not give to Gorta.
