Irish Lions humbled by orphanage visit highlight
On the playing front, O’Gara is bitterly disappointed that he hasn’t nailed down a place on the Test side; Wallace has been more fortunate and was yesterday named to play in tomorrow’s Test against the Springboks in Pretoria.
But the pair left rugby behind and accompanied Paul Wallace, the Lions prop in 1997, and former Ireland A back-rower, Barry O’Mahony, to a township to view facilities at an orphanage which has been part-funded by the Irish registered charity JDI (Just Do It).
O’Mahony has been the driving force behind the charitable organisation, while the elder Wallace brother has been active on the ground in Ireland, helping to raise about €65,000 to build a safe home to almost 40 children, some of them mentally and physically challenged.
O’Gara’s alma mater, Presentation Brothers College in Cork, raised money and presented local rugby teams with playing gear.
And yesterday, the internationals stirred up a storm of enthusiasm when they arrived in the township to view the facilities that the charity had helped provide and to interact with local children.
If O’Gara was pleased to see a local team kitted out entirely in PBC Cork gear, he was completely taken aback by the reaction of a seven-year-old girl at the orphanage, who adopted him as soon as he walked in the door.
“It was amazing,” he said. “This kid just clung on to me, wouldn’t let me go.
“She was a lovely kid and she made me think how lucky we all are to have such a good life. It was sad and happy at the same time, but I found it very emotional; they were all so happy with the little they had.
“The orphanage project all started when a local couple took in one child and then one more; it just grew and grew.
“They were funding all of this by themselves and at one stage, I think, there were something like 36 kids crammed into two rooms for sleeping. It wasn’t ideal, but at least they had a roof over their heads. Then the orphanage was built and it took off.
“It’s nice to see that there are people out there who care.
“JDI provided the finance and the expertise, but you have to give credit to this wonder couple who spent all of their own money for a long time looking after these kids and helping them survive. Certainly, looking at the operation, it makes one feel very humble and thankful for whatever we have.
“The place was packed with youngsters, lovely young kids, I got out of the car and this young girl just launched herself at me, clung on and wouldn’t let me go for the 40 minutes or so that I was there. Really, it made me feel very humble, all the emotions you should feel by such an experience.”
David Wallace was equally taken aback.
“What impressed me most was the work the foster-parents did from day one, cooking, cleaning and looking after kids from their own resources.
“One kid was taken in and the next thing they knew they had 36. It’s a real feelgood story where they ended up cooking for that amount of kids in a tiny little kitchen; some of the children were mentally and physically handicapped.
“In one way it is a sad story but it is also a happy one; it’s great to see that kids are being given an opportunity to have a new and better life.
“For me, apart from the rugby of course, it was the highlight of the tour. It was emotional but it is an uplifting story and it’s something I won’t forget too easily,” added Wallace.
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