A Decade of TLC

As we conclude the first decade of this century, one of the great good news stories of our Parish has been our involvement with the Goradiche Orphanage.

Back in 1999, two years after establishing a Children’s Liturgy at our Sunday Mass, we invited Brother Liam O’Meara to talk to the children and congregation at Sunday Mass during Advent. He spoke about his work and that of the small group of volunteers who came together in the Monastery in Ennistymon to help and support children from Chernobyl.

Having lunch later that day with Bro. Liam Canon Brendan O’Donoghue, who was then parish priest here in Shannon, suggested that we as a parish would adopt and support an orphanage in Belarus as our Parish Jubilee Project.

He asked Bro. Liam if he would identify an orphanage that needed help and that we as a parish would do our best to help in the year 2000. Bro. Liam had no difficulty to getting an orphanage that needed help. He identified Goradiche as the children were neglected, isolated and very poor, lacking in the basic essentials that we take for granted.

As history will show, the people of Shannon and the surrounding area, as well as people from all over the country, gave generously. The goal set at the beginning was €20,000 but such was the generosity that, with six church appeals in the year and numerous fundraising ventures by so many people, over a quarter of a million euro was raised by 6th January 2001 when the fundraising side of the project came to an end. What a great statement of the goodness of so many people!

With the money so much could and has been achieved, but the other miracle of Goradiche has been the volunteers. During the Jubilee year Annie Sheridan from Finian Park volunteered to go and work in the orphanage. In doing so she started a tradition that has seen volunteers from the parish visit the orphanage every year since. Over the past ten years, the volunteers have helped build bonds of friendship and nourish with love children who otherwise might not have as good a quality of life.

In the Burren Chernobyl Project Christmas Newsletter 2009, the report of the Goradiche Orphanage is very encouraging.

They are now making their own clothes and are so proud in showing them off. Their needlecraft work is wonderful and has pride of place in the crafts display in the orphanage. The weekly discos and gym sessions are a great source of excitement and much needed energy release for all the groups. The volunteers have brought a good selection of DVDs to keep the groups entertained during the long winter months.

As we look back on the past ten years, a light that was lit has expanded and continues to burn thanks to the generosity of people who still contribute financially, and to the people who volunteer to go and visit and work in the orphanage each year.

As we go into the second decade of this century there is no doubt that the funds are not as plentiful as they were a decade ago; perhaps people are not able to be as fulsome in giving as before, nevertheless it does not cost anything to bring kindness to a child, to open in someone’s eyes the eagerness to see you again. Over the past 10 years we have helped improve the Goradiche Orphanage yet it is not important really how good a building is if there is no care there. In our involvement with the Goradiche Orphanage over the past decade, it has always been the case that kindness and care, personal interest and thoughtfulness has been the motivation for so many of the people involved. All such volunteers care from the heart, mind and soul, not from the pocket or bag, and such care and love has been spread in great abundance in Goradiche over the past 10 years.