about us

Our vision is that every person with a disability will have full participation and inclusion in society.

Comber’s mission is to build a better future for children and adults with disabilities - a future without orphanages.

Comber (formerly Comber Romanian Orphanage Appeal) was established by Irish volunteers in 1990 in response to media coverage of the appalling conditions in orphanages in Romania. Having initially focussed on aid and renovation work in orphanages, we grew to realise the limits of ‘hands – on’ work in Romania. Over the years, we have sought to bring about long-term change through supporting Romanian people and organisations to develop better disability services at local level.

Comber has one full-time staff member in Ireland and two in Romania. Comber is a registered charity and is governed by a Board of Trustees in Ireland.

Staff

Fiona Dowling, Executive Director (Ireland) Fiona trained as a paediatric physiotherapist and volunteered in Romania in the 1990s. Fiona began working in management and international development on a full time basis after completing an MBA and working in Irish disability services for a number of years. Fiona has been Comber’s Executive Director since 2006
Marius Panait, Comber Romania Marius has worked for Comber in Romania since 2006. He is closely involved in staff training and facilitating the transfer of residents from institutions to homes. Marius graduated as a physical therapist in 1996 and also studied Communications and Public Relations. Previously Marius worked as a consultant and team trainer and established Katapult consulting in 2005.
Bogdan Bobolea, Comber Romania Bogdan graduated with a BA in Psychology (Major in Special Education) from University of Bucharest in 1997. He has worked for over ten years as an Educational Psychologist and Project Co-ordinator at various disability and health centres in Romania and England since graduation. Bogdan began working as a Co-ordinator for Comber in 2009 and is based in Bucharest.
Frances Haworth, Project Co-ordinator (Ireland) Frances is based in Dublin and works to support the Romanian office, as well as organising the overseas volunteer programme and facilitating the Eastern Europe Aid & Development Network. She has an MSc in Applied Social Research and has worked for various organisations in the not-for-profit sector in Ireland, Moldova and Uganda over the last 5 years.

Founders and honorary board members

Eric & Elizabeth Carson
Eric and Elizabeth founded Comber in 1992. They have extensive experience delivering projects in Romania, fundraising, recruiting staff and managing the organisation over 14 years. Eric is the Managing Director of telecommunications company with over 30 years management experience.

Patron

Board of Trustees

Kieran McCarthy CPA AITI (Chairperson)
Kieran is a chartered accountant and partner in Hughes Blake, Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors since Jan 2005.

Ronan Cavanagh (Public Relations Officer)
Ronan is the Executive Director of Montague Communications and has over 11 years experience in communications, as well as a MA in Communications & Culture Studies and a Diploma in Public Relations.

Carol Devlin
Carol worked as a development volunteer with Comber in Romania for 3 years: 1993-1996. She has 20 years experience in Irish disability sector with specific expertise in developing and running community living services for adults with intellectual disabilities with the Daughters of Charity Service in Limerick.

Patsy Supple
Patsy is Financial Director of a construction & property development company in Cork for the past 19 years.

Michelle McGill
Michelle has 5 years experience in senior management including operations and human resources, as well as running her own interior design consultancy. She is also an experienced fundraiser.

John Sheridan
John was a development worker in Romania in early 90s and Comber’s coordinator on the ground in Romania for 2 year period. He is an experienced paediatric nurse and nurse manager and is qualified in Health Services Management.

Policies

Comber Child and Vulnerable Adults Protection Policy - download pdf

Comber Volunteer Policy - download pdf

Comber is a signatory to Dochas's Code of Conduct on Images and Messages. This means that the values of dignity, equality and solidarity guide our use of photos, images and messages representing our partners and clients in Romania. If you have any comments about our images or messaging, please contact us at frances@comber.ie. For more about the Code please visit www.dochas.ie/code