A Galway-based Liberian woman who runs a charity for blind people in her home country is appealing for support from the people of Galway over the festive period.
Cecelia Dorbor, now an Irish citizen, has lived in Galway for the past eight years, but still bears the scars of Liberia’s horrific civil wars.
During the years of political turmoil, Cecilia, like many of her compatriots, was raped, beaten, and tortured on numerous occasions and forced to carry looted goods for hundreds of kilometres for rebel forces who besieged towns and villages around the country. The conflict — one of the bloodiest in African history — left 200,000 dead and a million others displaced. A second civil war, earlier this century, saw more than 250,000 people killed and a further 1,000,000 displaced.
Cecilia lost her partner and her two-year-old son in the conflict, and was forced to bury her child on her own after fleeing violence in her village.
“I came to Ireland in 2001 with a very broken heart,” said Cecilia, who now lives in Craughwell. “I prayed that if I was granted citizenship I would be able to go back home and volunteer with people who can’t help themselves. I was granted citizenship this year, and I have visited Liberia three times helping the blind.”
Cecelia’s charity, Cecilia for the Blind in Liberia, is part of the NGO Christian Association of the Blind, which works to support and advocate for the rights of blind and partially sighted people in Liberia. She is currently working to provide Braille schoolbooks for children as well as cooking utensils and clothing for blind people in her native country.
Donations of money, clothing, old computers, second-hand Braille materials, and other items can be made to Cecilia for the Blind in Liberia by contacting Cecilia directly at (087 ) 6613041.
