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Being an aid worker turned me into someone I never wanted to be.
In between moments of rising to the challenge, giving until it hurt, were many moments of great selfishness, rashness, anger, borne out of a feeling that I was almost constantly stuck between a rock and a hard place.
The idealism that none of us can avoid coming into this profession had dissipated and what was left was my own strength and weakness laid bare, no frills. I am proud of the work I did in the field, and perhaps it won’t be my last.
I gave my very best and I do believe I was able to make a marked difference with my cog in the wheel. But it also left me with far too many questions that the aid world simply couldn’t answer on it’s own.
The other night a dear old friend recommended that I incorporate an element of testimony into the talks on Catholic Social Thought that I am preparing for Hearts Aflame.
So that is what I want to attempt. My love of Catholic Social Thought did not emerge in a vacuum.
Catholic Social Thought and I
When I left South Sudan in June 2011, I had spent the better part of two and a half years living in West, Central and East Africa, working for an aid organisation.
I wasn’t sure if I would ever want or be able to come back, though I did go on to Pakistan, newly married, for another two and a half years.
My perspective on life had kind of burst open and shattered and shone through the broken glass all in one go.
I had worked myself into the ground – partly because that is a challenging part of my disposition, and partly because that was what was expected of me in the aid environment. And in the process, I could see it was putting my soul in harm’s way.
I credit the support of a handful of religious sisters I met along the way – one in particular, Sister Georgette – who, for want of a better phrase, kept me on the straight and narrow.
Plus meeting my husband – that kinda helped a bit. Just a bit. Continue reading
- Lucy O’Donoghue hails from Auckland and lives in Bangkok, Thailand with her ‘lads’ – an Irish American husband, a baby boy, and a rambunctious dog.
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