That is how Dr Margaret Ogola saw the feminine vocation, and she provided a marvelous example of its potential. This mother of six was driven by her love for the family -- especially children -- and was ultimately responsible for administering roughly 20% of the health care facilities in her native Kenya, speaking out tirelessly on behalf of human dignity.
She attacked the sacred cows of international development organisations by insisting on “the availability of cheap and safe methods of child spacing such as Natural Family Planning”, expressing her distress “that there seems to be a conspiracy to keep women in the dark, especially the African woman, regarding the many dangerous side-effects of contraceptives”, and calling for recognition of “the irreplaceable role of parents and the family in educating and in forming children in matters of sexuality”. (She herself wrote a book to help parents with this.)
While recognising that the collapse of sexual morality was basically to blame for the AIDS epidemic, she was full of compassion for those suffering in one way or another from the disease and insistent that poverty was driving its spread among women.
One can see how such a philosophy placed her at odds with the United Nations, which constantly ties its development dollars to the implementaion of immoral "family planning" structures. She knew better, realising how the family was always undermined by such initiatives.
Beyond the reproductive issues, she promoted women, whom she recognised as the backbone of the family, and who must be supported in her vocation in order for the poor to overcome their marginalisation:
The main reason for this is poverty and the disadvantaged place of women. Therefore prevention programs should have women at the core, not only to help them say "no", but also to have alternatives when they say "no". This means attention to the poverty prevailing in our country which is extremely severe, with about 57 per cent of Kenyans living on less than one dollar a day. Most of the poor are women, and particularly young women, because socially they are not considered equal to men and so have less access to education and resources at every level. Their situation has to be addressed in a holistic and integral manner, so that you not only foster family values but also give them opportunities to make a living other than by transactional sex, which young girls get into out of sheer poverty.
Her death is a real loss for Kenya on one level, though an advocate in heaven may allow the truth to prevail. She was always a woman of hope, as this account from her funeral attests:
She was progressively closer and closer to God. Today at the funeral Mass the priest who looked after her mentioned that she wanted to do everything, big or small, no matter how difficult it was, for love. Different people who spoke at her funeral – family, friends, colleagues and government officials -- highlighted the fact that she was a very talented and determined person, an untiring worker and always seeking ways to serve better in the medical profession, especially in the care of HIV/AIDS orphans who were her special concern as a paediatrician. She had a great love for children and fought for respect for the dignity of human life. They also highlighted the faith and trust in God which characterized her life.
With God, all things are possible. Rest in peace, dear sister, and remember these little ones before the celestial throne.
[This video is not in English, but the point is clear -- much work remains to be done.]
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