This coming July 4, two Irish teachers, Orla Walshe and Anne Nagle, will be flying to Rwanda to facilitate two summer camps for disadvantaged children (one in the city and one in the countryside). They will be teaching English, arts and providing other assistance and support. The programmes also include computer literacy, sports, prayer, music, drama and dance. This initiative is in partnership with two schools located in the areas of Kigali and Musanze.
“I think Ireland has a long history of kind of missionaries and people going abroad. What’s happened in the last like few decades is just that Faith has weakened here. So maybe there is not as much. I just want to keep alive that missionary spirit of Ireland,” said Anne Nagle, one of the teachers flying to Rwanda. Talking about her previous experience in Rwanda, Anna points out that “the children in Rwanda have a lot of material poverty, but they have so much spiritual wealth. They’re spiritually rich and they have the Faith. We have so much abundance here, yet we’re so spiritually poor as well”.
This will be Mrs Nagle’s second time supporting the Rwanda community. Anne Nagle had also previously worked in Kenya and South Africa. “She has such a rewarding time that she invited some friends, and I took her up on her invitation,” explained Orla Walshe, who is organising a ‘Quiz Night’ event happening on June 20 in Maynooth to fundraise money for the mission. Orla told The Irish Catholic that “Irish communities have been very supportive. Maybe a challenge has been that it’s a small project and not tied to a big charity that people can identify with.”
As they prepare to depart, Anne Nagle and Orla Walshe continue Ireland’s legacy of Faith-driven service and support.