April 27, 2012
Amaka ga Spiritus
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Compassionate about the poor | Bill Mulcahy (Brisbane) | Bill's previous articles |
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Over the past few months I have been writing here each Friday my
personal/learned thoughts concerning world poverty. I am an Assistant Principal-
Religious Education and upper primary teacher. I enjoy my role as an educator of
children, not just in English and Maths, but also in social and emotional
learning and as important, global participation. Just recently the children at
my small school (85 students) were able to provide 46 learning packs to Burmese
children in community learning centres on the border with Thailand. This is a
great effort, a socially just effort from young children.
I
am yet to fully provide for you the next blog about my trip to Uganda, and will
do so soon as I can. Here today I want to tell you about my dream. I am so
thankful that God has allowed me to care about poverty, so happy that God
enlivens my inner heart and supports me in the small things I am able to do. I
can do small things locally, nationally and internationally. And when you decide
to embrace doing small things, so many opportunities are presented to you. My
international focus is Amaka ga Spiritus.
Amaka ga Spiritus means Spirit Home in Luganda, a
local language in Uganda. Amaka ga Spiritus will be constructed in pod stages, a
pod being a grouping of 4 homes, each home constructed to house 6 children and 1
house mother. This is my dream, my small action. I am one person who will
do something to effect a positive outcome for children living in poverty.
As one person, I am not a registered charity. I have
no operating costs, I have no staff to pay, I have no snazzy office. But what I
have is a heart and a desire. I have contributed to many charities and sponsored
children for many years. But all this has been as a passive supporter, handing
over some money and somehow feeling good about it. I was so removed from whoever
or whatever my donations were supporting. But in 2009 I heard some words from a
wonderful ex-school principal that bothered me, yet comforted me. The words
"stand with the poor" sparked me into action.
Just
like the Scottish doctor (Nicholas Carrigan) in the movie The
Last King of Scotland who
twirled a globe, closed his eyes and aimed his finger at the moving globe to
pinpoint where he would travel to practice medicine, I went on a global school
site, cruised with my mouse, and like Dr Carrigan I too landed on the country of
Uganda. I began communicating with local Ugandan people from several villages
and learnt about their lives. I was beginning to realise and understand
something about all those years of donating to charities……I never felt
connected (really connected) to their cause or driven as I was now beginning to
experience.
I was resonating with the words
of Helen Kellar (American writer, activist and blind woman) who once wrote:
"I am only one, I cannot do everything, but still I can do something, and
because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I
can do." My
motto for this venture is:
“Making
a Difference - one child - one brick - one village - one at a time!"