GATEWAY TO HEAVEN
- featuring Late Father Gafney and his contributions to Nepal

Late Fr. Gafney

Late Father Gafney, the God Father of many orphans and the saviour of drug addicts, who lived his life as a true citizen of Nepal, was murdered so inhumanely in 1997, and all we can do is to be still and to let things pass, as they were always meant to be. The St. Xavier's Social Service Center, which was founded and run by Late Father Gafney, is now run by Father Willaim Robins, a Canadian priest who is usually dressed in Daura Suruawal and a Dhaka Topi. Jesuits are more Nepali like than the Nepalese themselves. In this article we have also attached an interview we had taken with Father William Robins regarding Father Gafney's life and his contributions to Nepal.

INTERVIEW WITH FATHER WILLIAM ROBINS S.J.
ST. XAVIER'S SOCIAL SERVICE CENTER

What are the objectives of St. Xavier's Social Service Center?
The objective of the social service center is simple. To provide whatever people need to make something out of their own lives and has to be something that other people can't do for them. If there are other organizations that are there to take care of them, it's fine, but if there aren't then we take care of them and the idea is not just to give people things but to help people stand on their own.

Do you also have educational facilities for the people you work for?
No, not directly, all our students go to local schools, mostly government schools. They live here and they study here and they get tuition here and that sort of thing but they're working at local schools so they're not working with us. So, they're doing training.

Can you tell us about some of your good experiences with Fr. Gafney?
Oh…many good experiences with Fr. Gafney, but the main thing is he was a good 'listener'. So, whenever I wanted advice or things, he would always be very very good that way. He would always 'see' people first and go to their needs right away.

And about the murder case of Fr. Gafney, is there any solid reason why he was murdered so brutally?
No, we can only guess why he was murdered. The police said that he was robbed. But, I suspect that he was probably murdered because he knew too much about drug smuggling. But we can never prove that and we're not interested in trying to prove that but we're just interested in making sure that the good things that he started are continuing to go.

Is the case still going on?
The case is still officially going on but there's nothing happening.

Is it because the Nepal Police is not responding well to the Jesuit Community in Nepal?
No, they've responded very well and they've done what they can, but they can't go any further.

Do you know why?
Perhaps they've been told not to go any further or perhaps they do not have any more evidence. But I do not know why.

Are you facing any difficulties, which Fr. Gafney might have faced when he was in charge of the St. Xavier's Social Service Center?
Not really…no…I mean no special difficulties. We get cooperation of the authorities … of the people and other organizations. So, there's no special difficulty. We have to raise money but we can do that.

Are there any dangers or risks in this field of social service?
No, not really. I don't think so.

Who are your major donors?
Major donors? There are many many small donors. But we get a lot of money from the German Nepalese Help Association and Lillian Funds Organization from the Netherlands and we also get money from Mirja Saf Foundation in Germany. Those are the three groups, which give us money, but we also get money from the Jesuits.

How is the Government of Nepal helping you?
They don't help us financially, but you know, when it comes to legal things like getting papers through offices or something, they're most cooperative and we don't have any trouble.

What are your major projects?
We basically have two projects. To take care of students who are homeless, generally orphans, to get them to schooling, to get them trained and to get them to the work force. That's our main job. And along with that we have some people who are handicapped and might stay with us for a long time, even for life, because they have nowhere else to live. So they live with us, and they do what work they can, depending on their skills. So that's the main work, and spinning off from that we have outreach work where people are on the streets helping people in need there. And our secondary work, of course, is the drug rehabilitation work at the Freedom Center.

And about the handicapped people, are they capable of earning money for themselves?
Some are, some are not. It depends on their handicap and how seriously handicapped they are. Some cannot do much of anything, some can pretty well take care of themselves.

Where do these people come from?
They come from all over Nepal.

How do they come here to the St. Xavier's Social Service Center?
They come here, generally through other organizations. CWIN refers them to us, the police refer them to us, and hospitals have referred them to us. Most of them come that way. A few of them come through our social workers on the streets.

What about the street children? What are you doing for them?
Street children, first of all, get help from CWIN. If the street children want to settle down and get a regular education, then they come here. Usually through CWIN and some have done that. Street children who want to stand on the street, we don't have a program for them.

What do you do if a street child comes to you and says he wants to settle down and get a regular education?
We check him out and probably consult with CWIN, because they probably know him and we see which is best. And if he really wants to settle down, then we'll keep him.

Is there a limitation on the number of street children you can take care of at the social service center?
Well, space is a limitation.

What if you do not have space for a street child who wants to settle down?
We look for other people who perhaps can take care of them. We're not just going to abandon somebody who needs help.

And more about Fr. Gafney, what are his contributions to Nepal?
Huge contributions. Fr. Gafney came to Nepal first in late 1950's, and he was in India while he was finishing his studies. And from the early 1960's onwards he worked in Nepal, he worked in education at St. Xavier's School Godavari and then at St. Xavier's School Jawalakhel, and in the 1970's he began the social service work and developed it, so we have this good center going. And, as I said earlier, he didn't just give things to people; he helped them stand on their own. He along with Dr. Deshraj Kunwar was really the first to start working in detoxification of Nepalese drug addicts and that goes back to 1976. He worked on that and pretty soon he discovered that detoxification wasn't enough and that they needed follow up because they needed to get into basic problems behind the drugs … why the person was taking the drugs. So, he started the Freedom Center in 1983 working with Mr. Rajendra Shrestha who is still working here, still in charge. So, in that program, we get the person detoxified and then working with the person and with the person's family, council him to a position where he can stand on his own again, which might take three to six months or even longer.

What do you do if a drug addict comes to you and says he wants to join the rehabilitation program?
I would tell him to come with his family, with his wife if he is married, and I'd tell them to go to the Freedom Center where they get interviewed. They can go there any morning at 10 o'clock except on Saturdays. There's a cost, it's Rs. 3500 a month and they stay there at least for three months. If they're poor then we consider that. We're not going to chase people away just because they cannot pay. They have to be motivated enough to stay.

Most youngsters who are addicted to drugs do not want their parents to know about their addiction. Do you help them to keep it as a secrete through out the process of rehabilitation?
No, we couldn't do that, because it's not going to help them. Until they can admit that they're wrong and seek help and rebuild they're relationships with their parents, it's not going to work. So, we're going to be wasting our time. So we'll encourage them to be open about it and only then we will be able to help both the parents and the youngster too.

As the Amateurs First Online Magazine is focused on the Nepalese youth, do you have anything to say to them? (This does not have anything to do with the topic we have chosen).
Be patient, grow up, and try to keep understanding every side of Nepal's problems. Nepal has tones of problems, and it's up to the youth to work very hard to solve those problems because they're going to be running the country in a few years. So, how can we look for better ways of getting help and development to all the Nepalese, not just in Kathmandu, that's a big problem right now.