Scottish Catholic Observer

The Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the poorest countries in the world. Following on from decades of destructive leadership by President Seseseko Mobutu, the current political elite there has a reputation for being one of the most corrupt regimes in the world. Despite having the richest mineral reserves in the world, it has the world’s second lowest GDP and the majority of DR Congo residents live in abject poverty, with no hope of escape.

Each day is a struggle for food, safety and shelter. For those who have worked in the Congo, the state of the country is a source of constant worry and dismay.

It was these conditions that Sr Margaret Rose Scullion SND stepped into the turn of the millennium. After working in the DC Congo until she was forced from the country by illness and civil war, Sr Margaret Rose returned to Dumbarton with a burning sense of what had to be done to help the poor children she had come to know and love there.

Gorsilaure

The death of one young boy prompted Sr Margaret Rose not only to develop her vision for DR Congo, but also to begin to put it into action. The young boy was Gordon, from whom the Gorsilaure project takes the first part of its name. He died aged only three after suffering from malaria and yellow fever.

Sr Margaret Rose told the SCO of a deep sense ‘knowing,’ which she felt as she ‘ranted and raved’ at God following the death of Gordon, telling her to begin the work she has devoted her life to for the past 11 years.

From that beginning Gorsilaure grew quickly. To the children enduring daily hunger, illness and poverty, desperate for education and alone in the world, it brought hope for the future. Security and dignity came not from international aid agencies and governments, but from Gorsilaure’s humble base in Dumbarton.

There, each month, a legion of volunteers take responsibility for meeting the project’s needs, knowing that should they fail in their efforts the consequences for the children in the DR Congo would be dire. It is not a prospectt they can even contemplate.

Direct aid

Funds were raised in Scotland are sent (in their entirety, with costs being met elsewhere) to the project in DR Congo. Despite the inherent challenges, the volunteers managed not only to meet the needs, but to develop the project, leading in time to the establishment of a children’s village.   Today, in addition to the hundreds of orphans cared for in the children’s village, the project boasts a hospital, a school, a fish farm and a food plantation, a shining example of self-sufficiency in a country ravaged by unemployment and one which functions as an alternative state, providing the children and the local people with everything that their government does not.

Driving force

Though Sr Margaret Rose is the embodiment of the project in Scotland, in DR Congo it is Fr Simon Lumbela who is the driving force behind Gorsilaure. In addition to his parish ministry, he  has, for over more than a decade, directed the distribution of aid from Scotland and orchestrated the establishment of new and ever-more ambitious projects. But for each individual child he is simple, and literally, ‘Father’, having adopted the orphans who live in the children’s village. Fr Simon himself calls Sr Margaret Rose ‘Mother’ (‘How would you like a man in his 50s calling you mother?’ she laments).

Though they are on different continents, they have taken on the role of parents for the poor children of the Congo. They provide, protect and plan for the future, building a secure home for the children and working to give them opportunities in later life to improve their situation.  The current status of the project is not something Fr Simon takes for granted, however.

Speaking from the Congo he said: “The difference made by the project is beyond words. Before, children were barely alive, with no hope of living when they arrived. It really defies words.

“Now they have security, a roof, food, clothes and access to education. It has been a total transformation, and now they have hope in their lives. The children now studying in our school…they are now the hope for the Congo. Through education, they will be able to make a stand in the Congo.”   “It has been a total change. We now have hope-filled children. To look at the ones still out there, the difference here is unbelievable. Gorsilaure has changed the life of our children in the Congo, but the project would be impossible without aid from Scotland.”

Hard times

Despite all the gains made by Gorsilaure in its first ten years, the project’s second decade has presented some difficulties, Most notably, a dispute with the telephone and internet provider has left Gorsilaure’s previously well-oiled communications system in disarray. Pictures and e-mails from the Congo provide a central part of the project’s fundraising activities, allowing school presentations to take place and for volunteers and fundraisers to see the effect their efforts are having on Gorsilaure. Without them, Sr Margaret Rose and Fr Simon feel the project has suffered.

Despite a campaign launched on the project’s behalf, support from local politicians and even letters to the Prime Minister, the issues remain unresolved, and provide yet another hurdle to be cleared. Sr Margaret Rose feels that despite all the challenges along the way, Gorsilaure is always headed in the right direction, something which she puts down to the Holy Spirit.

“There is no question that the inspiration for Gorsilaure is the Holy Spirit,” she said. “Not a ‘bright idea,’ but the Holy Spirit. God is the prime mover in our project. Every day begins with a prayer. I believe that the project ‘came with the right DNA,’ so to speak. It was inspired. Even with huge problems we know that it will be OK in the end. The buck stops with God here, not with us.”

Regardless of the difficulties experienced by the project, the effect it has had speaks for itself, an effect that the hard work of Sr Margaret Rose, Fr Simon and the army of volunteers will ensure continues as the project develops. Today, the change brought about over the last 11 years continues to bear fruit, and Gorsilaure is finding itself at the cutting edge of what Sr Margaret Rose hopes is a new era for the Congo, as the project starts to receive tentative government support. In contrast to the previous situation in the Congo which saw any investment quickly hoovered up by corrupt officials for their own personal gain, some government aid is starting to trickle down to projects and charities in the country.

As one of the most effective and forward-thinking projects in the Congo, Gorsilaure is part of this new move.  Sr Margaret Rose however, has a reminder of the scale of government help, despite her hope for the future. She said, “Not much has changed materially in the support government gives. It is still a very small amount. But what we see now that something has happened. A seed has been sown.” “Our own aim is meeting need where it presents itself,” she said. “Where that will take us in the future we don’t know. As for other projects, we would love to see Gorsilaure being replicated.”

For more information or to offer support to Gorsilaure contact the project at 11 School Lane, West Bridgend, Dumbarton, tel: 01389 764535.