|
Award Recognises Decades of Service at Annual Bazaar
Monday, 18 December 2023
|
|
In 2022, The School celebrated the 70th Anniversary of the inaugural Jesuit Mission Bazaar, first held at St Ignatius’ College, Riverview in 1952. To commemorate this occasion, the Old Ignatians’ Union created the Hazaribagh Award to pay tribute to the Australian Jesuit Missionaries who pioneered a vibrant mission in India, greatly improving education, Church and healthcare for the marginalised and the outcast. This year the Inaugural Award went to Jesuit Mission companions, Doug and Maree Meagher, for their “Service by a member to the Jesuit Mission Bazaar". Doug has been a long-time volunteer for Jesuit Mission, substantially helping on the organising Committee of the Jesuit Mission Bazaar and serving on our Jesuit Mission Board for years. For over 30 years Doug has co-led the $5 Wheel stall at the Bazaar. Doug’s father Bob Meagher, comes from a large family of nine, two of those were Jesuit Missionaries in Hazaribagh, Fr Geoffrey Meagher SJ and Fr Paddy Meagher SJ. “It has been a wonderful opportunity to volunteer as part of a very large team of very generous people, who happily give their time and effort to help others who they’ll likely never meet. Having two uncles who worked as missionaries in India gave my family a very personal connection to their work and we always wanted to help,” said Doug. Doug’s wife Maree, also a Bazaar volunteer for decades, stepped into the position as Chair of the Bazaar Committee just when COVID-19 struck and has steered the Committee since. This required many nights of meetings in the lead up to the day, as well as an entire week of set up and cleaning up after the Bazaar. “I have met so many people over the years who have become great friends. I feel that it is a small way that we can help to raise funds for people across the world who need it most. I love that it brings our community together for the same goal,” says Maree. Doug and Maree would both like to acknowledge the incredibly generous support they have received for the Bazaar logistics, they note the following who have also contributed to the events success including Denis Eade and Terry Meagher who showed us the way. Paul and Harry Brogan, Phil Elbourne, Mark White and the Riverview maintenance crew, our sons Michael and Alex Meagher ; the boarders and gappies at Riverview (who help with the clean up on Sunday morning and helped with the set up for many years), the full busload of volunteers from St Aloysius’ College, Jesuit Mission staff who help in so many ways; the Marist Brothers students who help load the truck with prizes at the Mission Office; the Jesuit Mission Bazaar Committee; the stallholders, and the St Ignatius’ College, Riverview community for allowing Jesuit Mission to use their facilities for the event. "It’s the efforts and generous spirit of all these people that make all the pieces come together for a wonderful annual Jesuit Mission fundraising and friend raising event. I’ve always admired Jesuit Mission’s focus on teaching and enabling people in the developing world. It’s like the old saying ‘If you teach them how to fish, you feed them for a lifetime,’” added Doug. James Dickinson OIU Committee Bazaar Rep |