I am just the bus driver for amani orphanage john thanks mullingar

When Mullingar’s John McCauley first visited the Amani orphanage in Tanzania during a trip to photograph the country’s wildlife, he was so deeply affected by the abject conditions that the children lived in that he decided he had to do something for them.

Now, almost five years later, the future of the 32 young residents at the orphanage looks a lot brighter thanks, he says, to the “generosity of the people of the Mullingar area”.

Since John began his association with the orphanage in 2009, he has helped raise more than €100,000, money that has been used to fund a range of life-changing improvements including the construction of dormitories, indoor toilets, an internet cafe and computer room, a kitchen, a milling facility, a vegetable garden and the most recently completed project, a new school.

“Two large classrooms and a little office were built,” said John. “It cost €20,000 including labour. I sent out money for the construction bit by bit. Once the foundation was done they’d send me a photo and I’d send out more money for the next part. We also got desks made for the children by two local lads.”

John and 13 local volunteers travelled to the orphanage in August in time for the completion of the new school building, paid for by donations made by the people of Mullingar, who, the popular photographer says, have taken the Amani children to their hearts. 

During their visit, the volunteers helped paint the new school walls “a lovely bright yellow”, John says. “They also did a huge clean-up of the dormitories. They washed down the walls and painted them. We also bought the children new mattresses with plastic covers and new sheets – it’s very comfortable for them now.

“We bought a new bed and a washing machine for Anne, who is like a mother to the 32 kids. She washed all the children’s clothes by hand and her fingers were all bent, God bless her. She had been sleeping in an old wooden bed that was infested with insects. We got her a new steel bed. She was so grateful.”

John also bought the orphanage a photocopying machine and printer during his most recent visit, which will help them generate an income.

“We found that a lot of private and government schools are coming to the orphanage and using the computers and are looking to print things. It is another way of making money. They also make some money from grinding rice and maize in the mill.

“My aim is to have them self-sufficient. They have set up a committee, which we helped put together, and every fortnight they will send me a report and I will help them if I can,” he said. “It was very emotional saying goodbye, the people were so full of praise for us and the people of Mullingar.”

Still feeling the effects of his most recent trip to Tanzania, John says that at the moment he has no plans to return but due to the bonds he has forged in Tanzania, he admits that could change. However, he hopes that the Amani Project, the organisation he established to administer the funds raised Mullingar, can help fund the tuition costs of the children from the orphanage who want to go on to third level education.

While the money donated by the people of Mullingar has improved the quality of life of the orphanage’s young residents, John says his life, and the lives of the volunteers that travelled with him, have been “hugely enriched” by the experience.

“I see now that certain things are important and I don’t get flustered over things. When I see people get annoyed over trivial things my mind goes back to Africa. It was a very good experience. It’s made me more grateful for what I have.

“I can’t think the people of Mullingar enough, they have been so generous and trusting. I just drove the bus, but they made everything possible,” John said.