I am delighted to welcome Mr. Alan Kerins to talk to the sub-committee about his work with the Friends of Mongu Group which is providing much needed humanitarian services in a small region in Zambia. I also thank members for attending. The meeting will provide a useful opportunity to hear at first hand the experiences of Mr. Kerins and aid workers abroad. After the presentation, we will have a general discussion which I hope will be of some assistance. I ask Mr. Kerins to make his presentation.
Debt and Development Coalition: Presentation.
Mr. Alan Kerins
I thank the sub-committee for providing me with this opportunity to talk about my work in the region and what I hope to do in the future. I have circulated a brochure in which I thank the donors who have given me money and helped to support me on the projects we are funding in Zambia.
I am a chartered physiotherapist and come from Galway. I got involved in Zambia when I volunteered to do some charity work with a big organisation. However, when that fell through, I was lucky to meet a friend, Br. Dan Joe O'Mahony, a Capuchin Franciscan friar from Blanchardstown, Dublin. He asked me if I would work with people with AIDS or HIV or lepers and I said I would. He asked me if I would work with his colleagues, the Capuchins, who have a strong presence in Zambia. As a result of correspondence and e-mails, the Capuchins, through Br. Declan O'Callaghan in Lusaka who comes from County Clare, put me in touch with Sr. Cathy Crawford who runs the Cheshire Home for physically disabled children in Mongu. As she was having problems in providing for physiotherapy and rehabilitation for the children, I fitted in perfectly in that I could provide the professional skills to help them. It was a life changing experience for me and made a deep impact.
Many members may have seen at first hand the conditions in Zambia. When I returned from Africa, I could not forget what I had seen and the plight of the people. I feel compelled to try to do the little bit I can and use whatever small profile I have to try to help these poverty stricken people. I have seen at first hand the huge impact made by the small amount of money raised. The beauty of this project is that the money goes directly to the cause. Sr. Cathy is brilliant and uses the money expertly.
Before I left in January or February this year, we decided to do some fund-raising. We raised approximately €25,000 through various events and donations. We were overwhelmed by the people's generosity. The brochure highlights where the money was spent and the project it is funding. Most of the money was used for physiotherapy and operations for the children. Money was also used for the food aid project which is urgent because of crop failure. A smaller amount was used for a block-making project which Sr. Cathy initiated through the Cheshire Home.
The Cheshire Home is based in Mongu in the western province, the poorest province of Zambia. Mongu is the main township in the province and approximately 700 km from the capital Lusaka on the western side near the Angolan border. The social conditions are atrocious and there is no industry or Government support. The fact that it has not rained means there is a 75% crop failure rate this year. It is the worst crop harvest in 70 years.
As members know, the HIV-AIDS pandemic is decimating Africa. Life expectancy is between 34 and 37 years of age. Every household in Kyoma and Mongu, where I was based, had eight orphans. For example, the chef in the home for the children looked after 16 children, six of his own and ten orphaned nieces and nephews of his deceased brothers and sisters. Their main staple diet is maize but that crop has failed, which means they are starving.
The Cheshire Home is run by Sr. Cathy, a Presentation Order nun. She is a brilliantly gifted woman from County Laois. She knows more about water and electrical works than I do. She embarrassed me with how much she knew. The home is totally donor dependent. While she does not receive any funding from the Irish Government, she receives a little from the Zambian Government. However, it is sporadic such as 1 million kwacha — approximately €200 — every now and then, which is nothing.
The main aim of the Cheshire Home is to rehabilitate physically handicapped children. The western province is approximately two and a half times the size of Ireland and the home is the only facility which caters for physically disabled children. It is located in the desert and there is no transport or roads. The majority of the children are not picked up and for those who are, it is often too late. The brochure shows a child with a club foot lying on a straw mat. She should have been helped from birth, as in Ireland. The lucky ones who are helped from birth are picked up by the aid agencies and dropped off at Sr. Cathy's door. She accommodates approximately 60 children at a time who stay in the home for as long as their rehabilitation requires. She provides them with food, medicines, corrective surgery, if needed, education and rehabilitation. Crutches and any other equipment required for mobility are also provided.
Dr. Jellis is English but has lived in Zambia all his life. He visits Mongu three times a year and performs corrective surgery on the children who need it. We provide approximately €10,000 towards this. We pay for basic medicines, corrective surgery, prosthetic limb-fitting, basic physiotherapy equipment and mobility aids. We also meet the running costs of the home such as food, clothes, etc. Members can see from the brochure the before and after shots and some of the prehistoric equipment used such as crutches.
Because of the dire social circumstances in the area, Sr. Cathy decided a few years ago to do something about the food issue. She initiated a food aid project, an outreach programme run through the home. Any spare money she receives is put into the account. Some 75% of the crop has failed this year and it has not rained. It is the worse harvest in 70 years. The food aid programme provides a temporary solution. We provided €11,000 at the beginning and recently pumped a further €5,000 into it. We are feeding 300 destitute families every month. They receive a bag of mealie meal, milled maize, which costs approximately €5. Some 300 bags cost approximately €1,500 to €1,800. As a result of the crop failure, the price of meal has rocketed and this has put more stress on our funds.
The food programme is only a temporary solution and because of the severe crop failure, more and more families are seeking entry to our programme. Most of the families that are already on the programme are destitute, with handicapped parents or very elderly people looking after their grandchildren. In one family, for example, a 75 year old woman who has lost ten of her children to HIV or malaria in the past three years is looking after 17 orphaned grandchildren and she cannot fend for them. That is the type of family unit we are trying to feed. All families are vetted to ensure that they are not cheating and not in receipt of aid from anywhere else. They get one bag of mealie meal between them, which is not enough and must be supplemented in some way. The situation is so bad at present that they are living off fruit droppings from trees.
The bore hole programme is an urgent priority. I spoke to Sr. Cathy Crawford on the telephone recently and I promised her that I would try to raise money for the bore hole programme while here, as well as attempting to come up with a permanent solution to the food problem. I have provided members with a background information leaflet but the basic aim of the programme is to secure infrastructural investment to prevent crop failure and disease. In analogous terms, we aim to teach the people how to fish, rather than simply supplying them with fish. We want to help them fend for themselves and arrive at a permanent solution to food shortages.
Sr. Crawford has said her aim is to ensure that if there is a drought next year or in two or three years' time, we will not be seeking money for food. We cannot keep sending money to feed over 300 families; we must arrive at a permanent resolution of the problem. Sr. Crawford had a meeting last Friday with representatives of the 60 villages in the area. They had a constructive discussion about what action will work and what money is required. The outcome of the discussion is that there are four essential requirements, namely, water — which is non-existent in the area at present — tilling equipment, seed and fertiliser. While storage facilities are also important, they are not essential now and can be built at a later date.
In order to provide water, we need to sink bore holes. There is a great deal of water below ground and there are already bore holes in Mongu. The home has a bore hole and a tank which provides running water. However, instead of sinking several small bore holes in each village, it would be better to sink four to six large ones in conjunction with putting in place large storage tanks and distribution piping. Then water can be piped to each village, which will have a tap and villagers will be able to hose the land and irrigate the soil. The people have enough land for tilling and sowing, they just do not have the water they need.
Sr. Crawford has already done much of the ground work. She has been talking to the water department in Zambia. She also had discussions with a Japanese company and a company based in Lusaka about sinking bore holes for the best possible price. She estimates that each bore hole will cost approximately €8,000.
The tilling equipment comprises oxen and ploughs. Oxen cost approximately €200 each in Zambia and ploughs cost less than €100 each. Maize seeds are needed because maize is the staple diet in Mongu. Casava can also be grown because it is a drought-resistant crop, although it has failed this year because of the intense heat. Sr. Crawford is examining the possibility of obtaining sponsorship from the small farmer scheme of the local authority in Zambia to purchase fertiliser. If the four essential elements are put in place, we will build communal storage sheds in conjunction with the block-making programme that Sr. Crawford established recently.
Housing conditions in Mongu are appalling. One would not put cattle into some of the accommodation. The block-making programme has a dual purpose. First, blocks can be sold to raise money for the home, which is totally dependent on the generosity of donors at present. Customers for the blocks would include other aid agencies that are building schools, houses, hospitals and so on. Second, blocks will be used to build simple, one bedroom houses for the elderly and the disabled, who are badly in need of support. However, the food situation is of utmost importance at present. The circumstances are dire and water is the main issue.
I thank members for their attention. Any assistance they can provide would be deeply appreciated. I am also open to advice or constructive criticism from them.
I thank Mr. Kerins for his presentation. He is doing wonderful work and Sr. Cathy Crawford sounds like an extraordinary woman. I also thank Deputy Michael D. Higgins who wrote to me about the work being done in Mongu, of which I was unaware. I am more familiar with Mr. Kerins through his exploits on the hurling and football fields rather than the work he is currently undertaking.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has stated that the development assistance programme in Zambia began 25 years ago and that the budget allocation this year is €18 million. The Department refers to issues raised by Mr. Kerins, namely, health, education, water and sanitation, the increased incidence of HIV and AIDS and a new programme in governance. It also states that a new development strategy for Zambia will be developed at the end of the term of the current country strategy paper. It is important that the committee focuses on this new programme and consults people such as Mr. Kerins and others working in the area.
I thank the Chairman and my colleagues for attending this meeting, which was arranged at short notice and I welcome Mr. Kerins. I propose that the Sub-Committee on Development Co-Operation of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs recommends to Development Cooperation Ireland, DCI, that it seek to transmit emergency food aid to the Cheshire Home in Mongu and, more particularly, that it provide funding for the Friends of the People of Mongu, the body Mr. Kerins represents. I also request that this proposal be submitted to DCI without delay.
Does the committee agree with that proposal?
Yes. I second the proposal.
The remarks of the Chairman are helpful as they relate to this project. The Irish presence in Zambia is in the northern part of the country, while this project is located in a western region. It would be beneficial, therefore, to regard the project, as outlined by Mr. Kerins, as a pilot project with three main components. The Friends of the People of Mongu applied for registration as a charity and there should not be any difficulty about the provision of tax clearance certificates and so forth. In other words, the documentation should not create any bureaucratic delay.
While I have no wish to embarrass him, we could not have a better role model for the younger generation than Mr. Kerins. He is a graduate of Trinity College and has worked in Merlin Park Hospital, where I was a patient. He showed me images of Mongu while I was in that hospital and I had plenty of time to think about them because my stay in hospital was longer than anticipated. What attracted me to the project — and these reprinted images do not give one the full sense of what is involved — was Mr. Kerins's ability to relate to children who have suffered one form of handicap or another.
I had hoped to go to Zambia soon but that may not be possible for personal reasons. Zambia is not a country that always had a low life expectancy. When I first went to Africa in the 1980s, life expectancy in Zambia was well above 50 years. Many aspects of Zambian society were well developed. However, life expectancy has tragically fallen to 34 or 36 years of age, depending on whose figures one uses. This has had a major impact.
What is important about this project is its clear defined short-term benefits. Water will assist in making the best possible use of the seeds that will be provided. It is an advantage that initially the project will be labour-intensive because that will ensure the best possible distribution. Combined with education, it will give us the seeds of civil society. It is an excellent project. The block-making is good because it is directly related to the building of schools, houses for teachers, a clinic, etc. One could get four classrooms and a clinic for approximately €35,000. I hope, therefore, there will not be a delay in giving assistance.
We must go.
We must suspend for a vote in the Dáil. The Deputy will still be in position. I will then call Deputy Dempsey.
Sitting suspended at 12.41 p.m. and resumed at 1.25 p.m.
Mr. Kerins described the home of the project. The project is broken down into clear areas. I agree entirely that one of these, immediate and urgent food aid, means not only the provision of food now, although it is necessary, but also the use of seeds and the best possible conditions. The latter raises the question of irrigation and water.
As stated earlier, I recently had the opportunity of reading back over development literature. One striking aspect of the debate at the end of the 1970s and in early 1980s is how positive labour intensive technology is in remote rural areas. Capital intensive technology has tended to suit the multinationals, which produce it, the donors, who provide it, and the elites, who receive it, whereas appropriate indigenous low cost technology, such as, for example, the sinking of a well, benefits entire villages. This, combined with more universal primary education, creates the capacity for the civil society.
My proposal on this briefing to the committee is that DCI acknowledge that this is in the western part of Zambia. It is important to regard it as a pilot project, which is outside the region of northern Zambia where there is an appreciable Irish presence. I have mentioned that it is very encouraging for all of us that there is a role model like Alan Kerins available to do this work, given his training as a chartered physiotherapist, his skills as a spokesman and, more importantly, his ability to engage with young people and do other things from block-laying to making and fitting the prosthetics required.
I made a specific proposal, that the proposal be submitted to Development Cooperation Ireland. My suggestion is that Alan Kerins should submit the relevant application forms under the partnership programme and confirm that it is his intention to complete as quickly as possible the work being done by the charity Friends of the Mongu People. I understand the preliminary legal work has been done and that all that is necessary is a tax clearance certificate. I suggest that the proposal go to Development Cooperation Ireland with the unanimous recommendation of the sub-committee and that it should respond to this project in all the circumstances both as a pilot programme and also one that would be a great model for others who may want to become involved.
I join the Chairman and Deputy M. Higgins in welcoming Alan Kerins who I know from the sports field rather than his work in Zambia. I thank him for the tremendous contribution he has made to the poor people of Zambia and the world.
I have mentioned on a few occasions that our aid programmes should include a way of alerting young men and women like Alan Kerins to the need to help the developing world. I am reminded of an anecdote I told at the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs. When the Wexford senior hurling team and others were travelling to Lanzarote a few years ago, I was sitting beside a player who was particularly well qualified professionally. I asked him whether he had ever thought of going abroad to help people in the developing world. His response was that he would love to do so when his hurling days were over but that he did not know whom to contact. I have since met a young lady from Ramsgrange community school where I used to teach who is a civil engineer and she asked me the same question. It occurs to me to ask Alan Kerins if he found out by accident, through meeting this priest, that there was a place where one could make a worthwhile contribution. If that is the case, it is obvious that this committee must develop a website or whatever is necessary to alert young Irish people who are among the most highly educated in the world to the fact that there is a role for them. Mr. Kerins might have ideas on how we could publicise it.
Like Alan Kerins, I am new to the political field — he is in it now because, whether we like it, helping the poor is about politics. The Chairman and Deputy M. Higgins are aware that there is an EU fund for the developing world, of which a huge amount is never claimed, mainly through ignorance on the part of the poor people who should be the beneficiaries. There may be a role for charities such as the Friends of the Mongu People in getting some of this money. Deputy M. Higgins told us here one day that it ran to billions of euro and that nobody ever got this money.
It is €20 billion.
That is frightening. I am a busy Deputy in Wexford and have not had the time to start a trail. Perhaps it should be another objective of this committee to enlighten those who are less enlightened on how this money can be claimed.
I hope Alan Kerins will keep up the good work. It is great to see a young man from a Galway hurling-football team giving of his time. I am sure the Galway boys would like to have him back but perhaps he might stay in Zambia until Wexford wins an all-Ireland final when he will be welcome back.
Perhaps Mr. Kerins would like to say something.
Mr. Kerins
I thank Deputy M. Higgins for organising this meeting.
In response to the question I looked into the possibility of going with one of the aid agencies but it did not suit me at the time to go for one year. There was toing and froing. On a trip to London with some friends for a weekend I met Brother Dan Joe, the chaplain of the school where my friend teaches. I mentioned it to him and he asked whether I would go to Zambia.
Since I was there, four more young people have volunteered to go. My sister and her boyfriend who are both primary teachers are going in July during their holidays to help educate children. A physiotherapist from New Zealand who was attached to the Salthill football team with which I was involved is going from September to December to work with the children. Another physiotherapist from County Laois got in touch with me after she had seen items in the newspaper and a nice piece on "Sports Tonight" on TV3 last week which flashed all the images. She is going for perhaps one year but definitely for three months. Darren Frehill is interested in making a documentary the next time I go which will be about the work Sr. Cathy Crawford is doing and the work we will do. Physiotherapists in Zambia are not that well trained compared to the training we receive here. There will be a highly qualified physiotherapist there from September to December. From January on the Laois physiotherapist will be in place. This means there are four young people on the way. It might be a good idea to publish articles in some of the physiotherapy magazines and try to organise a rotation.
There has been a good reaction to the piece on the TV3 programme. A physiotherapist from the community in Galway contacted me about a large number of standing frames not being used. She suggested that I find a store in order that we can stake a claim to them. She also wants to get involved in getting the equipment to Zambia. A doctor who was on the Galway hurling panel a year or two ago and is too busy at the moment to go to Zambia is very interested in providing sponsorship by way of providing medicines and so on.
I have a disk with all the pictures and there are some brilliant images. Damien Eagers from "Sportsfile" was in Zambia with me when he was visiting his uncle, Fr. Declan O'Callaghan, who has been in the country since 1970. "Sportsfile" is sponsoring a parachute jump during the summer to raise funds.
In addition, since the TV3 programme my old school, St. Mary's in Galway, which organises a big charity fund-raiser every year has put me down this year for a large chunk of the €20,000 approximately it raises. More funds are coming in.
That is how it happened and it was all a fluke. If I had gone with a big organisation, it would not nearly have been as personal as it turned out. How it turned out was probably for the best.
I hope Development Cooperation Ireland will examine new ways in which it can help one of the poorest areas in Zambia.
I have a note from the Department on the Cheshire Home run by Sr. Cathy Crawford which states the home received small amounts from Development Cooperation Ireland in the mid-1990s but that it does not appear to have applied for funding more recently.
That illustrates what I said, that there should be two separate parts to our motion. We should suggest that it be contacted about resuming its application for funding.
That is a good point. The note also mentions the Friends of the Mongu People being recognised by the Revenue Commissioners as a charity and provided with a tax clearance certificate. That will be in order. The charity would then be eligible to apply for funding under Development Cooperation Ireland's new partnership fund which supports new Irish voluntary initiatives which support development linkages and partnerships between civil society in Ireland and the developing world and are not in receipt of funding under other Development Cooperation Ireland schemes. Details of the fund and other Development Cooperation Ireland-NGO co-funding programmes are available on the Development Cooperation Ireland website —www.dci.gov.ie. I agree with Deputy Dempsey that we should provide more information on how people can get involved. We could also, as Deputy Higgins stated, target those who could be role models in this area.
We could be more proactive and could target the GAA.
That is a good point. We should also consider targeting other sporting organisations.
We could also target performing soccer players.
We will tackle all the governing bodies. If there are no other questions we can continue our discussion over lunch.
I chair a group within the GAA which has organised a game of hurling in Portmarnock next Saturday for children who are disabled and in wheelchairs. We have changed the rules to facilitate that game. Perhaps if Mr. Kerins is willing to meet the group we could discuss how disabled children in Zambia might benefit from such games. As I stated, the rules have been changed for the game and there will be no physical contact. There will be two teams of children in wheelchairs playing hurling with a soft sponge sliotar. Such games might be of assistance to children in Zambia.
I thank Mr. Kerins for attending the meeting and wish him every success in the future. The sub-committee supports his application to DCI.
The sub-committee adjourned at 13.45 p.m. sine die.