Richard Hogan: I'm travelling to the Philippines with a GAA team to build a school

Laura Dempsey, Tony Hannon, David Conneely, Larry McCarthy (President of GAA), Richard Hogan, Padraig Geoghegan, Mark Healy and Alannah Hannon.

Growing up in a small community like Douglas, Cork, sporting groups were the lifeline for many of us young boys and girls.

The Douglas Boys basketball team was coached by the superstar Tom Wilkinson, what a thrill it was to be coached by him, a legend. Playing basketball in Neptune Stadium, still a golden memory. 

The local Gus Healy swimming pool, a place of incredible craic and the odd verruca.

Playing rugby with Cork Constitution, hearing stories about your father and uncles who played for the club many years earlier, their pride when they saw you dressed in the white shorts.

I remember those long evenings playing football down in Douglas GAA pitch. 

Or the days spent kicking a soccer ball, pretending to be Ray Houghton or John Barnes. 

Mornings up in Frankfield Golf Club, trying to figure out your stance on the side of a cliff, boy did it make you learn how to hit a ball straight. 

Playing in competitions in Douglas Tennis Club.

And those days when the senior football or hurling team came into the school to celebrate their recent wins in Croke Park (ah, the old double) were magical moments for a young, budding sporting hopeful. 

Larry Tompkins was a name that stilled our childish play, and the table tennis we played in Rochestown College, Cork.

Every summer was a bounty of sport. Rain was my arch-nemesis.

THE GLUE OF COMMUNITIES

Sports and the clubs that promote sports are such an important part of a child’s development, and the people that volunteer and give up their time to be with children and light that fire of interest in a particular sport are people we should celebrate. It is the glue of communities.

The more children are connected to clubs and groups, the more they feel a part of something bigger than themselves. 

That is such an integral part of a child feeling connected to their community, and the antidote to many mental health issues. In my experience, the more we feel connected to others, the less we suffer with negative mental health.

Today, a team from Kildalkey GAA and Boardsmill GAA are heading to the Philippines to build a school in the Badjao community in Davao. 

I have been working with the beautiful children of the Badjao tribe for many years now, and we have finally started to increase the project to concentrate on education and breaking the cycle of poverty the Badjao tribe is caught in.

This has been a long goal of mine, and it is only coming to life because of the commitment, energy and time that the members of Kildalkey and Boardsmill GAA have given to the charity, EMBRACE BADJAO.

CONNECTION

The Badjao are a fascinating tribe. They live above the shoreline, a small group all connected to each other. Their houses lead into each other’s, again connection is vitally important to the tribe.

One of the great privileges of my life has been welcomed into the group as a friend. Being with them is incredible - like reaching back into our past. They are connected to the water, and they have a drama and funny story for every little moment. Yet, they are marginalised in Philippine society.

They are viewed quite negatively and receive very little by the way of government support. I hear how they talk about themselves, I hear the internalised prejudice that they hold, and try to help them out of those ideas. 

They never ask us for anything, they only thank us for coming to visit them. And their welcome is quite extraordinary.

This year EMBRACE BADJAO, the charity I have been fortunate to setup, is building a school, commencing an education programme, medical mission and a food mission. Badjao children are often malnourished, and die from very curable illnesses, and infant mortality is high.

So, the charity is attempting to alleviate these solvable problems. It would not be possible to start this work without engagement from brilliant young people like those heading over today to Davao from Kildalkey and Boardsmill GAA club. 

That is what sports clubs can do in a community. They link people, but also can have a global reach.

The GAA is the lifeline of so many communities in this country and abroad. I was incredibly inspired by the engagement of the community with the various funding events organised by Tony Hannon, the man who drove this initiative and raised an incredible amount of money to ensure the Badjao had a school they could be proud of.

The Institute of Education also sponsored a teacher to work in the school for a year. It has been quite overwhelming to see the support and enthusiasm for the project. I don’t know how I got so lucky to have so many people around me supporting this endeavour. 

I am grateful beyond words, and I know members of the Badjao tribe feel the support from Ireland.

I have never felt more proud to be Irish than I am today, heading over to the Philippines with a GAA team to build a school.