Rescuing children from Bucharest's sewers and building schools in Africa

To say that Aisling Neary has helped others is a massive understatement. The Castlebar native has had a positive impact on the lives of so many people in her lifetime, so much so that the true number would be impossible to calculate.

A nurse by profession, Aisling had a calling to volunteering and helping others from a young age, and that journey saw her work in Romania, India, Moldova, Nepal and Africa. She fundraised to help the most poverty-stricken in those countries, to help improve their lives in the short and long term.

Aisling is an amazing woman – she has been recognised for her work by various bodies but you can tell that was never the motivation behind what she did.

We sat down in her native Castlebar to chat about her experiences.

Angelina: Aisling, thanks for talking to me. Tell me a little about yourself.

Aisling: I'm from Castlebar, and I'm the youngest of four in the family. When I finished school, I trained to be a general nurse in Dublin. I always had a keen interest in volunteering so my life took on that path for many years afterwards. My first volunteering project brought me to an orphanage in Romania for three months following my qualification.

Angelina: How did you get involved in that initial project, Aisling?

Aisling: During my nursing training, I embarked on a 12-week programme, teaching adults literacy skills, and I volunteered at a Focus Ireland creche for children affected by homelessness. These experiences ignited my desire to volunteer and help others. 

A friend of mine told me they were looking for people to go to Romania and to work with children in an orphanage and asked me to go. And that was the start of it. On that initial trip, I spent three months in Romania and returned at least ten times with different projects. I had developed a relationship with all of the children and I was interested to know what became of them. A lot of them actually left that orphanage and went to group homes through the work of a great charity called Cross Cause and Tanner Romanian Mission.

I met a beautiful lady in Romania called Natalia - the children used to call her Mama Telly. She worked down in the sewers in Bucharest with street children. I had the privilege of working with her for about 10 days and helping her out. We used to go out every morning. There are man-made sewers and the children lived down there. They have underground piping in the sewers which radiate a lot of heat. So I went down manholes and I remember being a bit afraid going down because it was so dark, but the children were lovely and they were just introducing themselves. We brought them up and to a place that had hygiene facilities for washing and baths. Then Mama Telly would always bring food to them.

Angelina: Where else did your volunteering take you, Aisling?

Aisling: The girls I trained with were all then going to Australia for a year, so I joined them. Further ventures volunteering took me to Moldova, working with United Christian Aid on a few occasions. I travelled to India and worked in Mother Teresa's place for Christmas. 

I travelled around, and then I found Nepal. I loved Nepal, and it was probably one of my favourite places that I ever did a project in. I worked in a place called The Little Angels Home, and it was just gorgeous. It was up in the Himalayan Mountains, and they had an organic farm, and these children were so happy. I also went to Ghana in West Africa where I built two schools.

Angelina: How long did you spend in these places on average, Aisling?

Aisling: I was in Nepal for three months and another time for ten weeks and then on another occasion, I went for three weeks. I did different projects over there as well. 

I met a beautiful girl - Trish Ginnelly. She's from Newport and had an amazing charity called Sathi Nepal and I worked with her for a bit. She introduced me to another lovely Irish man from Cork with a charity called Just One, and that was in Kathmandu, and he was trying to get the street boys in group homes. 

Then I went to Africa. I was working in Galway at the time and decided to go to Ghana for two weeks. My friend Conor told me about a lovely man who was a pastor there, who needed help with his eye screening project. So I went out for two weeks and that changed my life completely. It brought me in a whole different direction. 

I loved Ghana - the people were full of love and everyone was so happy and it was just such a joyful spot. But there was severe poverty. One day the pastor called me and said there was a village in a very bad way. In Ghana, in these villages, there's a chief and a queen mother. You always have to ask permission from them to do anything in their village out of respect. 

So the chief and the queen mother met us and they were telling us that there are loads of children and they had no school. As the days went on, it became clear that I was going to have to do something. So I went back to the chief and I said there's a lot of work to do. But we will do something for you. I went to the people that actually would be able to tell me how much it would cost to build the school and they said probably about €20,000. I came home and I remember saying to my Mam, I actually really want to go back and build these people a school. And she was saying where will you get that money? I said, I don't know but I really feel it's going to happen. So I just started fundraising and it happened.

Angelina: So what came next?

Aisling: I had my flight booked and said I'd go for around five months. So I went out and we sat down and we met the chief. I said we would build a six-classroom school with a principal's office. And that was what we went about doing. 

It was a long journey and everything runs so differently there to here but we got it done. All in all, it took about five and a half months. I handed the school over to the government. They provided uniforms and they did tell me that they would do a food programme for the children. I'm still chasing that up. But it's doing what it's meant to do. 

I got a call from the principal to ask if I could go back and build more classrooms. I actually did go back and when I got there, they had the foundation dug for another school. They saw me coming! Anyway, I managed to build that. So now there are two schools out there now. I met with the principal and I said what would you like to call it? He said everyone has a soul, and everyone is full of light. So it became Soul Light School. I've kind of closed that chapter now.

Angelina: Aisling, you've been honoured a number of times for your work.

Aisling: I never did it for that reason but it was lovely to receive the recognition. The first one was when a lovely friend of mine, Stephen, put me up for Mooney's Magic Moments. And then in 2012, I got the JCI - Junior Chamber Ireland award. I was picked in Mayo – the category was Humanitarian and Voluntary Leadership. Then I heard I had won an Irish Award and then they were saying there are ten people picked from all over the world. So I got to Taiwan in 2012 with Junior Chamber Ireland. Then I came home and I received Mayo Person of the Year award. 

But the last one, I have to say was just so lovely and so unexpected. Only recently, I was presented with the Mayo Diaspora Award. They have a strong hold in my heart because they are fabulous. The Emigrants Society, they are so good. Over the years, they've brought so many people who are homeless over from England, treated them to the best time. It's so heartfelt. They give me an International Humanitarian Award.

Angelina: What is it like to settle here after all that work abroad?

Aisling: I really enjoyed it, but it's hard coming home from those projects. I'm three years married and everything has changed and everything is fabulous, and he's a wonderful man. We're living in Cong. I'm settled and I don't feel that draw anymore, even though it's fabulous work. And I could do two weeks somewhere again if I wanted. 

The art of fundraising is hard, and it's getting harder and harder. Over the years, I have been blessed to be able to fundraise and thank the people of Mayo for their generosity. One thing I will say is that I self-funded every single trip. My food, my accommodation, my flights were my responsibility, and I was able to just get some agency work beforehand or whatever and get all that sorted. Every penny went to the various projects.

Angelina: What would you say to someone who has that draw to do work like you did?

Aisling: I would say do it. If you're drawn to do it, it's your path. It certainly was my path, and I wouldn't change one thing. There's no greater joy than seeing joy in others. The Dalai Lama spoke about the true meaning of life - we are visitors on this planet. We're here for 90 to 100 years at the very most. During that time, we must try to do something useful with our lives. If we contribute to other people's happiness, we find the true goal, the true meaning of life. And that is what I've always stood by. And all these awards are lovely, but it was about seeing the joy in someone that wouldn't normally have it.