“I have worked and lived in many places since I left my beautiful county of Offaly 27 years ago. The facts of life are awful in places I have been, such as India, Nepal, Ethiopia, Angola, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, and Malawi. It is the crushing poverty that most of us in Ireland can barely imagine. But to witness it, as I have, would make you weep.
Most, if not all, of the people and children I worked with through Self Help Africa, lived below the poverty line in the slums, shantytowns and rural villages that line the roads of many countries. Shantytowns and slum areas, and many rural villages have no running water, no sanitation, no electricity and, often, very little hope. Houses are constructed from scrap-board, mud and iron sheets. Usually, a tattered piece of fabric hangs in the place of a door. Along the shantytowns and slums, narrow streets and pathways wander dogs, cats, chickens, goats, and other animals. The residents share their little space, all searching for something to eat.
The HIV/AIDS crisis is just one of a multitude of problems many of these countries face; poverty, homelessness, food insecurity and diseases such as malaria can seem insurmountable obstacles. I have often witnessed a deadly combination of chronic poverty, bad weather, and yet another bad harvest that, over the years, has left millions of people in need of food aid. I’m proud to work for Self Help Africa, which responds to times like these by distributing maize, seeds, foods, oil and beans to affected families in various countries.
Behind me on each visit lay my family, my friends and the comforts of modern Irish life – a starkly different world. All the photographs and reports I had studied before I left could not have prepared me for what I was about to see each time I visited various places in Africa and India.
Today, Self Help Africa’s wider programme aims to make some of these countries self-sufficient, introducing winter cropping, growing techniques designed to increase crop diversification, small-scale irrigation projects, soil and water conservation, water and sanitation projects, education and health projects, compost-making and many tree nurseries. This all helps people have hope for their families for the future. We also implement HIV/AIDS programmes in various countries to support, treat and care for those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS, as well as prevention, positive living and empowerment programmes.
Self Help Africa’s work in the ten developing countries we operate in depends on the support of Irish Aid, The Irish Farming community through the IFA and the Irish public. On behalf of my colleagues here in Self Help Africa and the poorest of the poor throughout the developing world, I would like to express my gratitude for your generosity over the past year and throughout many years of operation. Throughout its history, our administration costs have been exceedingly low, maximising the amount of money that goes directly to the field and to the poorest of the poor. Rest assured that Self Help Africa will get it there if you can give it.
Though I saw much tragedy, sadness and suffering over the years in many of these countries, I also met some truly beautiful people – all friendly and welcoming. I came away feeling richly blessed to have met them and as though I was the one being helped, not the other way around. By accident of birth, I am Irish, but I could have just as easily been born in any of these countries. My time living and working in these countries made me realise our numerous similarities. We breathe the same air. We walk the same way. Our spirits need love and acceptance. Our bodies need food, water, and sleep. We share the same humanity. We are not so different.
My lasting impression of the various countries I work in was not the scale of its poverty but the spirit of its people. Drought, Climate change, hunger, and physical suffering have not stolen their hope. They remain joyful when they have every reason to be depressed. Thank you to everyone for all your kindness, generosity, advice and support in helping us to give people, children and families a leg up to a better, more hopeful world”.

~ Ronan Scully,

Business Development Representative,
Gorta Self Help Africa.

If you would like to know more about the work of Self Help Africa or would like to support the work of Self Help Africa, you can contact Ronan at Ronan.scully@selfhelpafrica.org or visit www.selfhelpafrica.org