Mary Coogan shares a story of the people behind the Trócaire box, as well as of the fight for justice that continues beyond the lenten campaign.
The Trócaire box was an integral part of many Irish childhoods. If you have seen the 2016 box, you will notice that the message is different to previous years. The focus is on ordinary people around Ireland who take a stand against poverty and injustice through donating, volunteering, advocating, lobbying or fundraising for Trócaire. As global citizens, we all have a role to play in fighting injustice and building a world that is fairer and more just for all its citizens.
I recently had the privilege to travel to Uganda and meet Daniel, who featured on the 2012 Trócaire box, and who represented both the great injustices faced by so many and also great hope and possibility.
Daniel’s story
Daniel’s family were displaced during the long and brutal conflict in Northern Uganda. They were forced to move to a Internally Displaced People (IDP) camp and lost everything; their home, their livelihoods, their sense of security. When Daniel was very young, in 2004, the camp was raided by the rebel group, Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). Huts were set on fire, and when people fled from the flames they were shot. Somewhere between 400-800 (there is no consensus on the exact numbers) people were massacred on that one day.
“Our role as global citizens is to stand in solidarity with the millions of people around the world who are overcoming obstacles of injustice and poverty every day”
Daniel’s parents fled into the bush with their young children. Daniels’ father, Joel, was kidnapped twice by the LRA but managed to escape both times. When the conflict ended, Daniel’s family began the slow process of rebuilding their lives and livelihoods in a community that was reeling from years of violence, trauma and upheaval.
Daniel’s home is located down a dusty dirt road in rural Northern Uganda. The elephant grass on both sides of the road was almost as high as our bus. It was like the village had sprung up from nowhere. Life is clearly not easy in villages like Daniel’s as people depend completely on the land to grow enough food to feed themselves and generate additional income. Daniel is attending school and hopes to become a doctor one day, and his brother Emmanuel hopes to start university next year to train as a nurse.
Daniel
Living through injustice
What had happened to Daniel and his family was unjust. They did nothing to deserve the situation they found themselves in during the conflict. Now, while life is peaceful and they are hopeful about the future, they still face many obstacles every day due to the inherent injustice of our world.
For example, they are doing little to cause climate change but are completely at the mercy of the changing climate. If the rains do not come and their crops fail, they simply will go hungry. If they sell their animals to generate income to buy food, then they lose part of their livelihood. The average Irish person generates 88 times more carbon emissions than the average Ugandan, yet the impacts of climate change are seen far more starkly in Daniels’ village than in my own home town.
Fight for justice
While Daniel and his family are just one story from Uganda, with their own unique personal stories and aspirations, they represent why it is so important not to stay silent about a world that we know is inherently unjust. This matters because injustice will prevent Daniel and millions others like him around the world from realising their own unique hopes, dreams and potential.
With the support of FAPAD, Trócaire partners working in their community, Daniel and his family are looking to the future with hope, and are overcoming the challenges that injustice and poverty have laid in their path. Nobody who I met in Uganda was looking for a hand out. All they wanted was a chance to build a better life, and to have a future which is fairer and more just.
Our role as global citizens is to stand in solidarity with the millions of people around the world who are overcoming obstacles of injustice and poverty every day, to add our voices to the call that says a more just world is not just possible, it is necessary.
Find out more about Daniel’s life in 2012 and now in this short clip.
To find out more about Trócaire’s Lenten Campaign, visit www.trocaire.org You can visit the Trócaire Centres in Dublin or Cork to collect a Trócaire box, find out about different campaigns and learn more about how you can join the fight for justice!
Author: Mary Coogan
Mary is originally from Co Wicklow and holds an MSC in International Development from UCD. She previously volunteered in Ghana and South Africa. Mary worked in overseas volunteering roles with Suas and VSO before joining the Trócaire team last year.
Photo credits: Trócaire