Attracta to swap Kilrush for Tanzania

ON September 13, 21-year-old Kilrush girl Attracta O’Dea, who is a social care student at Tralee IT, will embark on a three-month East African volunteer work placement programme, which she feels will determine her suitability for her chosen career.
Before then, Attracta will have to complete her fundraising quest, although she has already raised most of the €4,000 she requires. Up to now, she has organised a table quiz, a ’70s’ night and a cake sale, while she is hoping to hold a fundraising walk in Kilrush on August 26.
While not fully certain how she will take to her sojourn in Tanzania, Attracta is confident that her stint volunteering in the Boman’gombe Orphanage will test herself and her five student colleagues.
“I like challenges. I like being thrown in at the deep end because then I’ll know if I’m able for the job or not,” the Island View resident told The Clare Champion.
The orphanage is situated about 30 minutes from the larger town of Moshi. Tír na nÓg Orphanage (Kao La Amani) was founded in April 2007 by Louise Quill, a native of Tralee. It is a non-profit making organisation.
“We’ll be living across the road from the orphanage. We want to give the kids a break from us,” Attracta joked.
“It came up that a few students could go abroad so I put my name down for an interview. I got the interview to go to Tanzania with five more students. So I’m not going to be on my own. We’ll be doing a lot of college work over there as well as volunteering with the kids in the orphanage,” the former Kilmihil Community School student explained.
“We haven’t been told much yet about exactly what we’ll be doing. We have been told though that we’ll be doing normal social care duties. Some kids there have been raped and have lost their parents. There are also two kids with Aids in the orphanage,” Attracta said.
The orphanage only accepts the poorest and most needy children. Some of the children were left on the street by their parents as infants, some were homeless, some lost their parents to disease, and many would likely not survive alone.
When the two children with Aids arrived at the orphanage they were in terrible shape but now, by taking medication and having a staple diet, they can live normal lives.
The orphanage also runs a nursery school, both to educate the younger children who live there and to create a small source of income. 
Five girls in their 20s and 30s staff the orphanage, three of whom live at Kao La Amani. Three are teachers, two are matriarchs and they all cook, clean and maintain the orphanage.
The 10-acre farm, which was purchased with donations, grows corn, tomatoes, beans, bananas, melon and green leafy vegetables that are a staple part of their diet. This farm is home to cows, goats, geese, a handful of chickens, turkeys and pigs.
Attracta is hoping to hold her final fundraiser on Sunday, August 26, but she needs some guidance. 
“I’m hoping to have a walk that day. I have the permit got. I just need someone more mature than me to lead the way. I’ve never done it before,” she explained, adding that she has asked some Kilrush businesses if they can help with her fundraising.
“I’ve already written letters to businesses asking would they be able to donate something small but I’ve only heard back from two so far. But I’m getting there and I’m happy enough with the fundraising. I’ve had a lot of help from people,” Attracta, who works part-time at Kelly’s bar and restaurant in Henry Street, acknowledged.
Anybody interested in helping with the fundraising effort can contact Attracta O’Dea at attractaodea@hotmail.com.