Tom Ongom is one of our most skilled "influencing agents". He convinces people that it is best to build on Adina's holistic approach when modernizing their village.
TEXT AND PHOTO: MAGNE REIGSTAD
When Tom speaks, people in the village listen because Tom is trustworthy.
Tom is 42 years old and father of eight. He came in contact with our center in Lira when his son Emmanuel received treatment from us. Today, Emmanuel is a fully capable youth of 16 years and focuses on vocational school with building and construction as a subject. The parents were in their time worried about the son, he would be able to get married when he was considered disabled, how would a woman look at him?
Tom radiates naturally authority, and is the volunteer coordinator of the village family group. He gets involved because he wants to pay back what Adina has given him in the form of a healthy son. The village has 35 households, and 15 disabled children live here. Together with our people, Tom explains to the inhabitants that children who struggle with a disability can and should be helped. Tom's own son has become a role model in a culture where the power of example is great.
Tom and his wife Lucy wants all the children to go to school and both are working to raise enough school fees. They harvest from a diverse arable land, from 12 hives and have fish in a couple of ponds just outside the village. The parents work hard, but do not envision the children as labor on the family farm. The children help, but they should not be free labor for the family. - Proper education provides greater opportunities for good work, the family father believes.
Our field workers are often visit this family group, and they see that Tom's village has become a solid example of the Adina Foundation's holistic approach giving results in the form of both better interaction, behavior and understanding of the larger community the village is part of.
A theater group has been started who make and perform their own plays where the theme is good and less good aspects of life in the village. The very creative group has fun together and entertains the inhabitants. The similarities with a Norwegian community team are striking.
The village has created a separate savings bank where farmers can borrow for seeds, for example. According to Tom, there are no problems with repaying the loans. But no one is allowed to borrow money if they do not have a plan for the use of money and repayment, and the borrowers are thoroughly questioned before the joint fund opens for loans.
The children follow when the village adults are gathered for important discussions.
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