If you dream it… you can do it

09 May 2012

By Niamh Cooper

When my first son, Liam was born I lay awake on the first night of his life staring at this tiny bundle; my heart almost exploding with a love I had never felt before. I vowed to love him always and encourage whatever dreams he has in life. He is now ten years old, far from that little bundle and getting closer to becoming a teenager. He dreams of being a footballer one day, a DJ the next and it’s exciting to witness him at this stage of his life; he can be anything he wants to be. While of course he will come across difficulties in his life, just as we all do, his future is bright. What he dreams today, can become the reality for his tomorrow.

It saddens me that this is not this simple for so many little boys and girls his age in the world. Every day in my job at World Vision Ireland, I am confronted with images and stories of children who are faced with the toughest obstacles imaginable in life. And I have made the stupid mistake of presuming that these kids must have given up on dreaming, surely if I were in their shoes I would throw in the towel and lose all hope for a better future.

But I am so wrong in my presumption. The one thing that bowls me over every time I am privileged enough to meet with some of these children is not only their resilience, but their determination to dream.

On a recent trip to Uganda a met a seventeen year old boy who personified this determination.

When I first met him, Geoffrey looked like an average sporty teenager. A handsome young man and I’m sure if he lived the life of a Dublin teen he would be having fun, chasing girls and looking forward to the weekend with his mates.

But he is not an average seventeen year old. He is the head of the house and looks after his four younger brothers and sisters. His Dad died when he was a young boy and when he was fourteen years old his Mum left him and his siblings alone, for a new life with a new man.

Geoffrey was scared and didn’t know what to do. How was he going to care for his small brothers and sisters? How could he feed them and send them to school when he was just a boy himself? He thought that it might be best to ask other members of the community to take a child each. But he just couldn’t do that. He wanted to keep his family together. So at the tender age of fourteen; an age where most young boys are playing football and starting to notice girls; Geoffrey took on the responsibility of raising four young children on his own. He did this by every means possible. He would work the land of neighbouring farmers for a small fee…enough to provide for a meal that night. He would get a loan from a neighbour and travel to the local market to buy salt which he would sell on to locals in his community for a small profit, pay back his debt and spend the money he made on feeding his family. This would be a struggle for any person, but imagine how hard and how frightening it was for fourteen year old Geoffrey? You could understand if he gave up hope, if dreams were the last thing on his mind. But he didn’t.

He had hopes and dreams for his family. He dreamt for a better life for them all. When he received a goat from World Vision he grasped the opportunity to turn this dream into a reality. He sells the goat’s offspring to pay for his sibling’s school books and uniforms and continues to work at whatever job he can to provide for them.

Astonishingly, throughout all of this Geoffrey has stayed at school, determined to get an education and become a success in life. He is in his final year of technical college and once he graduates he plans to set up a business with other young tradesmen from his class. He dreams of becoming a successful business man and I would bet every cent I have that this dream will become a reality.

When I said this to him fixed me with a resolute stare and he told me that he will never give up, no matter what happens, he will never give up. His determination was palpable. He is a formidable person, one of the most inspiring I have ever had the privilege to meet.

During our conversation I almost forgot how young he was but then I looked up and around the room and every inch of the wall of his small mud hut was plastered in images from the sports pages of discarded newspapers. Football stars stared down at me, just like they might from the bedroom walls of hundreds of seventeen year old boys around the world. And when I asked him what team he supported the strong serious, grown up expression that he had held throughout our chat disappeared and was replaced with the young beaming face of a teenager as he proudly proclaimed that Arsenal were the best team around.

He was still a teenage boy. His youth was stolen from him when he was forced to become a responsible grown man at the age of fourteen. But he never stopped dreaming. He dreamt of a better life for him and a better life for his family. His determination will ensure that dream will come true.

So now, when Liam asks me if he really can be anything he wants to be I can honestly tell him yes he can. Recessionary times in the western world has made things more difficult for many and some use this as a reason to give up, to lose hope, to stop dreaming. Geoffrey might only be seventeen but within the half an hour I spent with him he taught me so much. One of the most important lessons I learnt is to never give up on dreams, because dreams provide hope for today and are what will create the reality for tomorrow.

Niamh Cooper is Head of Communications & Advocacy with World Vision Ireland
 

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