Welcome to www.ww.china8.org

The Home Page of WombatWarblers: Compassionate Action for Uganda

“Helping children who are living in poverty”

Email: bmulcahy@bne.catholic.edu.au

Mobile: 0400633828

Mail Address: 14 Conroy Street, Nanango, QLD, 4615.

Thank you to Fr. John Wotherspoon OMI who kindly donated this web space. Do take a look at John’s site: www.china8.org

In September 2009, I undertook a goodwill visit to Uganda to visit Mpigi town and Ngugulo Primary School, a rural village school of 500 students. I had never thought of going to Uganda. 15 students (wombatwarblers) from my class and I had completed a walk for water (see below) and we learnt about the children of Uganda. I located a poor village school and 3 months later I landed at Entebbe airport. I felt compelled through my Catholic faith to visit and to ‘stand with the poor of Uganda’ and to see firsthand how I and other wombatwarblers could help them. I witnessed the hunger, the lack of resources and I was so moved by my experience I set up WW: Compassionate Action for Uganda. WW is a group of school children and teacher who care. Please email me if you or your community would like to hear my story. Each day I pray for my Ugandan friends and that I may get back to Ngugulo village. Fighting poverty isn’t all about aid; it’s about helping people a little so they can help themselves. It’s about hope: hope comes to people by simply letting them know that we care.

My welcome to Ngugulo Children singing a welcome song Children meeting me on the way to school

2010-02-07 Comment “Finish your plate, there’s a child starving somewhere in the world”

Mum used to say to my siblings and I. Even now I say that to my children. We have all heard this saying a few times in our lives I reckon. But what does it mean? As grown up adults we can now laugh: how was that plate of leftover veges ever going to really make it into the mouths of a hungry child somewhere in the world. Did your Mum say this to you? What was your reaction?

2010-02-06 Opinion: “War against Poverty” versus “War on Terror”

Today the world provides just over $100 billion in aid for the billions of people who live in dire poverty. The United States and her allies are spending $150 billion in Iraq and Afghanistan bankrolling a ‘war on terror’. Quite a discrepancy isn’t it! Which is more important? The war against poverty is a war worth fighting for; it is a war that can actually be won.

2010-01-31 Ki kati Mukwano gwange (Hello friends in Luganda)

Sunday night, hello to everyone. Today I met up with Fr John Wotherspoon OMI at my old school Iona College and attended Mass at the chapel that I was married at in 1981. I hadn’t seen Fr John since the early 1980’s, but made email contact with him a few years ago, (I can’t recall the circumstances). I spent a little time with Fr John over a cuppa and I am so blessed to have had this time given me. Thank you so much John for setting up this website for the WombatWarblers to use and for your words of advice.

Welcoming at Ngugulo Primary School Some pictures being welcomed at Ngugulo on Friday

The MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGs) UN Millennium Project Web Site

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were adopted by 189 world leaders, as part of the Millennium Declaration which was signed in 2000. The MDGs are the world’s goals dedicated to advancing the wellbeing of the poorest and most vulnerable people in our world. The leaders agreed to achieve the Goals by 2015. This September, the United Nations will host the largest gathering of Heads of State since the Millennium Summit in 2000. The eight goals are more than simply a set of targets to achieve; they were solemn promises to the world’s poor and most vulnerable.

So are these promises likely to be met?

A United Nations report says governments are falling well short of the financial commitments to help the developing countries out of poverty and to meet the other globally agreed goals. World governments agreed to commit 0.7% of their GNI (Gross National Incomes); but this commitment is badly off track as the aid has fallen to only 0.28%, an $18 billion shortfall. Australia is committing 0.25% (1/3 of the agreed commitment) and has committed only to reach 0.5% of GNI by 2015.

Governments can no longer be expected to solve global challenges. WE, the people, must be the problem solvers, let US be the generation that eliminates extreme poverty by 2015.

Interesting readings: (click on the links to view)

1. FOOD AID CUT: Millions will starve

2. This food wastage is such a crime in today’s world given the population who are poor: Food Waste Tops $5billion

2010-01-30 We are so lucky and privileged

Even though Nanango, Australia and Ngugulo, Uganda are on opposite sides of the globe, as teachers we all have the same common goal: instil a love of learning in our students and a desire for our students to become successful members in a global community. There is however an alarming difference;

Mr Bill Mulcahy (Nanango): my classroom is fully resourced with textbooks, computers, electronic smart boards, desks, chairs, air conditioning, reading books, lights, electricity, carpeted floor, and so on.

Mr Godfrey Matovu (Ngugulo): tiny dull blackboard, occasional textbook, piece of chalk, and his voice. That was it.

The P7 classroom The walk down into the valley for water Cooking the daily posha

'WombatWarblers' - St Patrick's Primary School, Nanango

While thousands of people took action over the Be More weekend, the ‘Wombat Warblers’ of St Patrick's Primary School Nanango have the distinction of literally stopping traffic.

For those who have not followed the ‘warblers’, they are a group of twenty three group five students and their teacher Mr. Bill Mulcahy, who take their name from school mascot ‘Russell the wombat’ and the student’s love of learning through conversation.

The students have a particular interest in Uganda after this year’s Project Compassion story focused on Teopista, a subsistence farmer in the region.

To stand in solidarity with the children of Uganda, who can walk as far as six kilometres for water, the ‘warblers’ walked from noon on Saturday 8 August till 6pm, starting again at 6am on the Sunday and finishing at midday.

If that wasn’t hard enough students carried buckets of water, as wombat warbler’ Emily explained, “To feel how hard it is for them”.

This is an example of what Mr. Mulcahy calls ‘experiential learning,’ a genuine hands on approach to development education.

As students and their teacher collectively clocked up 498km (which is further than Sydney to Tamworth!), cars stopped at the side of the road to donate money to the students.

Such spontaneous donations helped the ‘warblers’ to raise over $3,000.

Two of the ‘warblers’, Emily and Stephanie even managed to complete sixty circuits of the school, a whopping 36km each.

However it wasn’t all walk and no play as the night was spent camping out, enjoying a bbq, playing games, watching DVDs and singing karaoke to Sing Star; in short enjoying community.

The Wombat Warblers illustrate the Be More ethos that in giving we really do receive.

I came across this image of the CNN site. The question, “What would happen if everyone cared?” is certainly a legitimate one. The image shows a link to a CNN section titled "Impact Your World" which examines real issues.
If only we pulled our heads out of the sand to care about these issues!!!