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Profiles of Lay Missionaries

Aisling Foley

If someone had told me three years ago that I would go from working as a solicitor in a large Dublin office to working in a children’s home in South Africa, I would have thought they were crazy!! Maybe it’s a testament to the human character that we are capable of adapting to different environments much more than we think we are.

My mind was opened to the idea of being a lay missionary when in 2008 I went to work in a children’s home in Cape Town, South Africa for six weeks. It was a step into the unknown for me working with young babies but I soon fell in love with them and saw a very sad side of life I had never seen before. Home of Hope was opened by a South African couple five years ago in response to the increase in violence against children in South Africa. Some statistics to put this into perspective are that a child is assaulted every 14 minutes in South Africa, a child is abused every 8 minutes in South Africa and a child is raped every 24 minutes in South Africa. Frightening statistics that I got to see first hand in the babies I cared for in Home of Hope all of whom had been abandoned, abused or neglected. One child had even been raped at 12 months old.

When my six weeks finished I returned to my “normal” life in Ireland but the memory of my experience stayed with me. Having already completed the Viatores Christi training programme, I began to help out in the kitchen at the VC workshop weekends so the idea of being a lay missionary remained a part of my life. At some of these workshops I saw the trainees being blessed for their missions overseas and these people became an inspiration for me to follow in their footsteps.

The recession in Ireland came with full force in late 2008 and brought with it news of job losses and economic hardship. It seemed that nothing good could come of the position we all found ourselves in but for me it seemed that for once it might be a good time to leave Ireland. Things like a house mortgage were obstacles, but when I thought it through, these were not insurmountable. With things falling into place I thought now might be the right time to follow a dream.

Home of Hope was delighted when I said I was returning to South Africa as they had many projects with which they needed help. My initial role was to train staff and volunteers on good child care techniques, help with caring for the babies, counsel the abused teenagers in a new project opened by Home of Hope and generally assist with the running of the home. Using research skills I had acquired as a lawyer, I embarked on researching one of the main conditions affecting about 50% of the children in our care. This condition is known as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). About 72,000 children a year are born in South Africa suffering from FASD. FASD is a series of conditions affecting children whose mothers drank heavily during their pregnancy. The effect is that the children are born with permanent brain damage which is displayed in their behaviour, being typically labeled as hyperactive, difficult, slow, aggressive and undisciplined. Naturally they don’t do well at school and so typically drop out early and get into trouble with the law. The Western Cape of South Africa, where Cape Town is situated, has the highest rate of FASD in the world. Despite the massive number of children suffering from this condition, very few people (including the parents of these children) know much about FASD or how to bring up children with this condition. Very few of the children are diagnosed and practically no support is offered to their caregivers. My research developed into a booklet explaining the condition and containing practical ways to deal with and care for these children. We hope to distribute this widely throughout the community to help caregivers and teachers to better understand these children and their unique needs.

As time went on it became apparent through observing the children in our care, that most children suffering from FASD are incapable of succeeding in main stream schools and so earlier this year Home of Hope made the decision to take on the pioneering project of opening a school specifically for FASD children. This will be the first school of its kind on the African continent and as “project manager” I feel honoured to be involved in such a pioneering project that is going to change the lives of so many children.

Living in a different country far away from family and friends comes with its challenges but even on “bad” days you know that the work you’re doing is making a difference. It’s easy to get trapped into a cycle of materialism - making sure that you have the latest car, clothes and other mod cons we convince ourselves we need to live in Western societies. Those of us who were lucky to be born into caring families and to get a good education sometimes have a unique opportunity to “give something back” and when we see that opportunity we must grab it if we can…..

At one of my final weekends in VC, we were given this poem:

“Follow your destiny, wherever it leads you.
There comes a time in your life when you realize that if you stand still, life will pass you by.
There is a path before you now. Walk it one step at a time. Keep your head up, and cast your dreams to the stars. You will find your new journey magnificent and beyond your wildest imaginings” - Vic Silvers.

I keep this poem on my wall and on difficult days or on days of doubt it acts as my guide and gives me reassurance as to why I decided to become a lay missionary!!!!

Country Profile - South Africa