Blessed are those who look into the eyes of the abandoned and marginalised and show them their closeness- Pope Francis.
Most people have a desire to make a difference; others make realising that objective the central mission of their lives.
Aidan Donaldson can be counted amongst the latter.
Lean, towering and mild mannered, Aidan is easily recognisable, but it is his life work that makes him stand apart as a remarkable individual.
Some 80 percent of the two million residents of the city of Lusaka in northern Zambia live in the kombonos, areas characterised by over population, inadequate housing, poor sanitisation, limited access to health care and employment opportunities. Misisi is one of these shanty towns, ranked as one of the worst five slums in all of sub-Saharan Africa.
It was here that Moses was found, newborn, abandoned in a basket on a rubbish dump.
He was taken to a police station by a Good Samaritan who heard him crying, before ending up in Kabwata Orphanage. He is now a very bright 14-year-old, with dreams and ambitions of becoming an engineer.
Aidan first met him when he was three weeks old and meets up with Moses every time he returns to Zambia.
Read More:Chris Donnelly: What do we want Ireland to look like in 2053?
Chris Donnelly: Unionists' entitlement mindset needs dismantled
Aidan established Project Zambia in 2002, answering a call from the Christian Brothers who wanted to send pupils from their schools to Africa to link with the missions, recalling the central ethos of their founder, Edmund Rice. The project quickly became very popular and other groups wanted to be part of it. More than 50 schools and 3,000 people have been involved in visiting Zambia from Ireland since then. Both St Mary’s University College and Queens University have Project Zambia societies today.
Project Zambia provides a role for donors and volunteers to work in collaboration with local communities in Zambia to meet priority needs the host communities have identified. It is about empowerment, recognising the mutual benefits for all involved in the encounter.
Aidan was back in Misisi last month to launch a new initiative- funded by Edmund Rice College in Glengormley- to build additional classrooms in St Lawrence Primary School. Twenty-one years since he first visited the school, Project Zambia's support has helped it expand from less than 400 pupils crammed into a few classrooms to a large school with classroom blocs and over 1400 children. The pupils’ academic success rate in public exams is exemplary- the Zambian government has highlighted it as an extraordinary success.
Project Zambia also fundraised to ensure the staff room has computer terminals, toilet and shower facilities, meeting zones to facilitate teacher planning and preparation. Empowering people to make a difference.
In Mongu, the project set up a feeding programme for 350 grandparents who are raising their orphaned grandkids, children whose parents died during the devastating AIDS pandemic.
Aidan has initiated two projects for former street children. The intention is to reintegrate kids back into their families and communities as they are vulnerable to being dragged into a life of prostitution, abuse and crime. Prior to Project Zambia getting involved, the kids lived in container trucks. They now have a purpose built facility with sleeping residences, showers and communal areas, kitchens, counselling provision. It’s on the same site as a school so they can return to formal education. Bout was a 16-year-old Aidan met there as one of the street children. He now has a Masters Degree in counselling and works in the facility.
Project Zambia is also leading programmes for combating human trafficking, gender based violence and child marriages.
I first met Aidan in 1992 in St Mary’s CBGS in Belfast, and generations of young men benefited immensely from the values he sought to instil in pupils in his role as teacher prior to retiring from school eight years ago.
Since then, he has worked with the Catholic Schools’ Support Service and the diocese alongside volunteering for the Westcourt social justice desk with Cormac McArt in raising awareness about homelessness in Belfast.
Aidan retired not to relax but rather to dedicate his time to other aspects of his vocation as a Catholic educator. He has now written and published eight books, the latest about Sister Patricia Maria Speight, an inspiring missionary nun from Belfast working in Kenya for the last 40 years particularly with people suffering from AIDS and poverty.
A proud native of north Belfast, Aidan has worked to spread his message throughout the local community beyond schools.
Cassidy’s bar in north Belfast has provided tremendous fundraising support over the years, with many patrons also travelling out to Zambia to help with the project.
Newington Credit Union funded a library in an orphanage in Lusaka and paid to renovate the orphanage, where a school has since been opened. Two of the orphan children, known to Aidan since they were young, are now qualified teachers in the school, role models for the others.
For Aidan, it really is simple. “Project Zambia is not about helping people experience a feel good buzz after donating money or spending a few weeks in a poorer land. It is about lifting the scales from our eyes, seeing what’s important. Experiencing the world the way it is helps us reassess and shape our vision and values.
People who go to Africa and come back look at the world with eyes of compassion, but they must also feel challenged to respond where they are with what they got. The third world exists here in our own communities too.”
For more information on the work of Project Zambia, visit their website at projectzambia.co.uk