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"One
day in February 1978 as I came out of the Parish Church
after Mass in Batlagundu, the then Parish Priest, Father
Michael, brought me four small children, three girls and
one boy who was five years old. I was then at Boys’
Village. The mother had died of TB and the father died of
starvation trying to keep the children alive. At Boys’
Village we did not take girls nor boys younger than
seven. I told this to the Priest and got on my motorbike
to go back to Boys’ Village. Half way there a 'voice'
told me to go and get those children. My response was,
'What will I do with them?' Again the 'voice' said, 'you
will be shown'. Thirty years ago this is how our whole
family-care system started.
We
employed a lady to be the 'mother' of this family and gave
her a small house at Boys’ Village. In the years to come
the families increased to 95 and moved away from Boys’
Village to several centres. Now we have four Children’s
Villages, four teenage girls hostels, two boys’ hostels
including one for HIV+ teenage boys, 110 children in
residential schools, 90 doing advanced professional
students, many already employed or married. Altogether
there are 955 boys and girls in our present full-time
care.
And
all this started with one small orphaned family."
Brother James |