Irene Gleeson (30 December 1944 – 21 July 2013) was a

Christian missionary A Christian mission is an organized effort for the propagation of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries, to carry on evangelism or other activities, such as ...

to the children of

Kitgum District Kitgum District is a district in Northern Uganda. It is named after its major town of Kitgum, where the district headquarters is located. It has suffered many deaths and social disruption resulting from the 20-year civil war within the region duri ...

, northern Uganda, whose lives were disrupted first by war then by HIV/AIDS. She was awarded an Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in 2009 for "service to international relations, particularly through sustained aid for children affected by war and

HIV-AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

in Northern Uganda" Gleeson first came to war-torn

Northern Uganda The Northern Region is one of four regions in the country of Uganda. As of Uganda's 2014 census, the region's population was . Districts As of 2010, the Northern Region had 30 districts A district is a type of administrative division tha ...

in 1992, after selling her beach-side

Northern Beaches The Northern Beaches is a region within Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, near the Pacific coast. This area extends south to the entrance of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), west to Middle Harbour and north to the entra ...

home in Sydney. She parked her caravan in the

Lord's Resistance Army The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), also known as the Lord's Resistance Movement, is a rebel group and heterodox Christian group which operates in northern Uganda, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Co ...

territory close to the then-border of

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

, and over the years built her orphan school around it. Initially, Gleeson didn't want to leave, but as an orphan herself, her life had seen its fair share of sadness, and she felt it was her chance to give back and save a child from the life she once lived. Gleeson sat under a large mango tree as the locals sussed out the strange white lady. Nobody knew any English and they weren't quite sure why she was there. The language barrier was a problem, but slowly she sang to the children who meekly sat beside her, eventually teaching them English by writing in the dirt and doing puppet shows. In 2007 ''Cinderella Children'' a video documentary was produced by Grant Windle about Gleeson's charity work in Uganda. On 21 July 2013, Gleeson died, after a yearlong battle with cancer, surrounded by her family in Sydney. Her work lives on through the Irene Gleeson Foundation (IGF) (in the US, www.IGFUSA.org). The Irene Gleeson Foundation now provides: *Full day care, Schooling, Food, counseling and Medical care for 5 schools and 8,000 children. *Tertiary Training College for Young Adults. *Medical Clinics and Malnourished Feeding Program. *Gloryland Junction AIDS Hospice & Infant Orphanage. *Community Churches. *FM Radio Station ‘Mighty Fire FM’ *Cultural Arts Studio *Water Bores for Communities * Capacity Training for 450 professional Staff

References

External links

* * http://irenegleeson.org/ * http://www.fass.uts.edu.au/images/news-events/mama-africa.pdf * http://www.smh.com.au/national/grandmother-to-the-children-of-war-20090607-bzv7.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Gleeson, Irene 1944 births 2013 deaths Australian humanitarians Women humanitarians Officers of the Order of Australia People from Sydney Deaths from cancer in New South Wales Deaths from cancer