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| Brother Ron and children |
Fifty years ago a young priest arrived in Dhaka to pursue his
assignment in the seminaries of the Catholic Diocese to educate young
people and provide for them a conduit for a moral life. As a Brother of
the Holy Cross, he had taken the vow of poverty, chastity, and
obedience. As a vibrant young man from the farm lands of Iowa, Brother
Ron, as he was known, became very busy.
There was so much to do. Teaching at St. Gregory’s, visiting the
villages, building a vocation, rehabilitating institutions, learning
Bangla, and a host of other things. He loved his work and gave all his
time to his young students, who were hungry for knowledge and wisdom.
Within ten years of his tenure in then East Pakistan, the country became embroiled in a civil war.
West Pakistan (the western wing of Pakistan) and its leaders refused
to accept the results of the election, which would make the Bangladeshi
leader (Sheik Mujib), the Prime Minister of the country. The Armed
forces of Pakistan were unleashed on the Bengali population in a
brutal and murderous fashion. A full scale civil war erupted, and
within 9 months Pakistan became dismembered. Bangladesh was born from
what used to be East Pakistan. During this sad and brutal war,
innumerable atrocities were committed.
Brother Ronald and his order spent all of their time protecting
innocent lives which were being decimated by a brutal and merciless
army of repression. They especially tried to save and protect the Hindu
minority who were the special targets of the Army and its
collaborators. This was a clear example of altruism as they took the
risk of being hurt or killed in the process. Brother Ron and his
church gave sanctuary to many of the minority community. They used the
church as well as their own living quarters to give refuge the ones
who were being hunted down.
Almost eighteen years ago, Brother Ronald had an epiphany. In his
wide travels through the country which he undertook on a bike with his
fellow compatriot, Brother Donald Becker, he noticed countless young
street urchins, especially at bus terminals and port areas. These kids
aged between 10-15 were under the influence of the local mafia who
kept their hold on the kids by giving them drugs. These drugs included
sniffing paint, taking cough syrup, yaba (a street drug which makes
its way into Bangladesh from Myanmar), marijuana, and heroin. The kids
all came from broken homes and impoverished surroundings. He felt
strongly that if there was a place that could be a halfway house or a
residential center for these boys, there was a chance that they could
be nurtured, become drug free, given a basic education and returned to
their families and society for a productive life. 18 years later,
Apon is a name that is well known in Bangladesh as a reputable Drug
Rehab Center and a residential center for street addicts.
It has become an ideal center for the poor. In a four story building
built in a rural setting, an hour away from the capital city of Dhaka,
Apongaon (the village of Apon), now houses 200 kids who ages vary from
10 to 30.
Brother Ronald and his dedicated staff, many of whom are recovered
addicts, follow the the TC (Therapeutic Community) program, which has
worldwide acceptance as a nonchemical method of drug rehabilitation.
There are almost 75 children under the age of 15 and there is now a
female center which has been established as well. The age of the
female members are between 18-30 and most of them are addicts or
female sex workers. Their story is even more sad in a conservative
society like Bangladesh.
Brother Ronald has realized his dream of creating an abode for the
street children, who have been much neglected by society and the powers
that be. In his long and laborious task, he has begged, borrowed, and
beseeched people all over the world to help him help others. He is
always running out of money as he does not know how to refuse a
kid who wants to come back to the center because he has been thrown out
of the house or has not had a square meal for days, or it is too cold
to sleep in the streets.
At the center, the kids have educational classes, drug rehabilitation
sessions, trade learning programs, Yoga, meditation, as well as
entertainment and sports. Like children everywhere, all these kids
want are a loving and caring environment where they feel secure.
Brother Ronald and his staff has been able to provide this, and what
a wonderful thing it is to see.
Who would believe that a young man from the farmlands of Iowa would
make his home in Bangladesh and spend fifty years (and counting) here.
He does go back to the US every few years but rarely spends more then
four weeks, as the yearning for his home away from home pulls him
back. If there is a living example of true compassion, if there is an
example of someone who cares for others more then he cares for himself,
that individual is Brother Ronald. Even though he does get recognition
and acknowledgment, he remains detached from it.
One has to come eye to eye with the reality of the desperately
poor and impoverished to awaken oneself to the inequities of life.
That is the only way one can come to the realization: But for the Grace of God, there goes I.
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| Happy faces and hearts |
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| Young men meditating |
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| Young ladies meditating |
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