Volunteer Stories » Roisin Meaney

Setting off from Shannon Airport on Valentine’s Day I has mixed emotions about the trip to Missionvale, excited to be lucky enough to be given this wonderful opportunity while anxious at not really knowing what lay ahead. I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to keep my emotions in check when faced with the poverty being experienced at Missionvale. On our way from Port Elizabeth to Missionvale the first thing I noticed was the rubbish. Blankets of rubbish to my left and right. I found and still find it hard to process the injustice and the inequality between the wealthy and the poor. Driving to Missionvale you witness the tale of injustice. There were homes by the beach and businesses like McDonald’s and KFC and on the other side of the road were rubbish strewn villages with metal shacks that people call home. I imagined and feared that there would be an air of doom and gloom in Missionvale but I was wrong. We arrived at Missionvale Care Centre to a welcome I have never experienced. Such a uplifting, energetic welcome with soulful singing and dancing with the tricolour flying high. We met with Sr Ethel, a Saint on Earth. She greeted me like she knew me all my life. A formidable woman like no other I’ve ever met. What she has achieved in Missionvale since 1988 is remarkable. She had and still has such determination and belief that she can help the poor and impoverished. We set to work and I was honoured to be able to help in any way I could. The people and children at Missionvale are so positive, happy and welcoming. On one of the mornings we arrived at Missionvale just in time for morning devotions. Morning devotions is when the ladies of the care centre start their day with singing and dance praising and thanking God. What an amazing experience. We sang and danced along with them. It was an emotional experience thinking of how little they have but yet they have such faith in God. At the end everybody wishes each other a good day with a hug. My experience is Missionvale was a positive one from start to finish. On the last day I met a lady called Hermia, she told me all about her life and how much loyalty she feels towards Sr Ethel. She told me about her daughter and how she was teaching her that she has to work hard if she is to achieve in life. A very humbling ending to a wonderful week. It is easy to see why people return to Missionvale over and over again. It’s hard to find the words to describe it, you really do have to see it and experience it to believe it.

Roisin Meaney