Mama Tina is still working, still singing & still dancing
Francis’ Grand Tour visits charity home run by veteran campaigner
in 1989 and has helped more than 700,000 kids gain an education and a foothold in life.
Helenita revealed: “The children all come back to see her and they’re all grown up but they still say ‘mama,
mama’. She’s absolutely adored in
Christina Noble with Francis Brennan and the group in Vietnam this country. Our whole ethos is about helping the family, so the family can help the child. It’s about giving them back their childhood.
“If there’s one chance of breaking the poverty cycle for many generations to come it’s through education.” Viewers Some of the children in the Vietnamese centre and, left, Fr Richard Geoghegan will see Christina open her Sunshine Centre in Ho Chi Minh City to a group of visitors Francis Brennan’s Grand Tour tonight on RTE One.
They sing The Fields Of Athenry before sharing a warm hug – and the visitors are visibly moved.
Group member Noah Halpin, from Dublin, said: “What struck me about the place was every single child was laughing, every single child was smiling.
“I went down to the ward myself and even the sick babies are blowing kisses which I found really touching.”
Fr Richard Geoghegan, from Waterford, added: “Her health mightn’t be the best but she gets up every day and gets on with it. She knew there was a need here and by God do they need her.
“Those children are protected and that is her goal, and it will go on long after she leaves this earth. I think I met a saint here on this earth today.”
Francis Brennan’s Grand Tour: Vietnam is on RTE One at 8.30pm tonight.
sylvia.pownall@irishmirror.ie