Life

Gorta-Self Help Africa chief on why we must give Africa a helping hand – and not a handout

As Irish charity chief Ray Jordan launches an appeal for support for his organisation north of the border, he tells Gail Bell how Gorta-Self Help Africa's ethos is changing lives in Africa

Ray Jordan, CEO of Gorta-Self Help Africa, at a meeting of a farmers' cooperative in Ethiopia
Ray Jordan, CEO of Gorta-Self Help Africa, at a meeting of a farmers' cooperative in Ethiopia Ray Jordan, CEO of Gorta-Self Help Africa, at a meeting of a farmers' cooperative in Ethiopia

WATCHING the "best of people" survive the worst of atrocities and go on to rebuild shattered lives is the inspiration that drives humanitarian Ray Jordan, guiding him to the next airport, on to the next plane and to the next disaster zone somewhere far away from his comfortable Limerick home.

It is a never-ending circle for the constant traveller, energetic Irishman and CEO of Gorta-Self Help Africa who is proud to reveal his Co Armagh roots – his late father was from Forkhill – at a time when the charity is embarking on an ambitious campaign to win over hearts and minds in the north.

The charity chief is spearheading an awareness drive throughout Northern Ireland, "knocking on doors" and generally getting the name of what is the third largest overseas development charity in Ireland "out there" and better known this side of the border.

"We have started a campaign of door-to-door collecting in parts of Northern Ireland and have other plans in the pipeline," reveals Ray, who is married to Tipperary native, Sheila, and is father to four children – all under the age of 13. "The response, so far, has been overwhelming.

"Irish people, in general, understand the impact you can have by supporting the people who produce food, and there has been a real warmth for the 'self help' proposition which we advocate. Our approach is to give people a helping hand, rather than a handout.

"In 2017 we will invest more than €20 million in our work and although large institutional grants – the Irish government, the European Union, US Aid and various different trusts and organisations – make up a sizeable proportion of that funding, the backing we get from the general public is an absolutely vital component in our success."

Formerly the head of operations and humanitarian response at GOAL, Ray –who studied engineering before switching to international development – led teams (post-tsunami) to Afghanistan, (post-earthquake) to Pakistan and (post-genocide) to Darfur in the run-up to taking up the top post with Self Help Africa in 2007.

He was later involved with its successful merger with Gorta, Ireland’s longest-running international development organisation, in 2014.

The current focus for Gorta-Self Help Africa – which has grown in recent years from being a "relatively small player" to one with a £20 million turnover – is assisting poor, rural families in Africa "grow more and earn more" from their land.

"The past decade has been an amazing time for Gorta-Self Help Africa as we have expanded from an organisation supporting a few hundred thousand people in a handful of countries, into one of the largest agricultural development agencies in Europe, supporting close to 2,000,000 people in nine different countries in sub-Saharan Africa," he says.

"At present, we have around 250 employees – in Africa, Ireland, the UK and America – and are fortunate to have amazing support from thousands of volunteers who collect at church gates and in shops, or sit on boards or sub-committees.

"People are brilliant and sometimes a good news story is hard to get out there, but the people who support us are stars."

A bit of a visionary himself, Ray has also helped the charity evolve into a non-profit organisation with various social enterprise subsidiaries, including an ethical auditing company and social enterprise which assists rural communities to access new markets – while still maintaining core work in agriculture and small enterprise development.

The greatest challenge, he believes, is focusing in on what can be completed "versus what is potentially possible to achieve".

"I see a continent with amazing opportunities for the small-scale farmers we work with, but assisting them access markets and get a fair price for their crops is one of our greatest challenges," he says.

"Millions of farm families can work their way out of poverty if they can access markets fairly. In many ways, it is the same story from a different time here in Ireland, when the development of the co-operative movement has transformed the lives of many rural households over the last 100 years."

He cites many examples of stand-out successes, notably a group of Congolese refugees living at the edge of a tropical rainforest who went on to became successful beekeepers – the leader, Dr James, is known today as the 'bee doctor' – and the Meki Batu Farmers Union who now have more than 14,000 members and sell their vegetables and fruit to international markets, including the Netherlands.

"Late last year, the union members signed a contract to supply fruit and vegetables to the catering division of Ethiopian Airways, so it's likely that over the past few months, I have probably eaten produce from these farmers on one of my many flights," he muses.

"We also have an amazing savings and loans programme that we have been running in that country for the past 15-20 years – there are currently 55,000 people involved in our savings and loans programme in Ethiopia, all of whom have been able to access loans to support them with small income-generating businesses."

Ray's bond with Africa first formed when he began working with the Volunteer Missionary Movement, joining the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers), to help build a vocational training centre in a small, rural town in western Uganda.

"I ended up spending seven years of my life in Uganda and I guess you could say that I was bitten by the Africa bug then," he adds. "I loved the simplicity of life and I respected the graciousness of the people I met along the way.

"Importantly, I learned also that people who had very little themselves could be among the most giving of all."

Successes aside – the World Bank reported last year that six of the 10 fastest-growing economies in the world were in Africa – a needling conviction to do more keeps the Limerick man striving towards ever wider goals, including realisation of a strategy to raise Gorta-Self Help Africa's turnover to €50m over the next five years.

"I get frustrated that we cannot do more when I know we have the solutions to end long-term hunger for so many," he concludes. "I get frustrated that we, as a people, are losing our connection to being the caring Irish, the friends of the poor throughout the world, standing in the corner of the underdog – because that is the corner we came from."

You heard the man. Get your money out; he will be calling soon.

:: For more information and to donate see selfhelpafrica.org/ie/