He left school at 16 with no qualifications, he took up a business opportunity that his farther had found for him. His reading abilities began to show; through his love of reading it made the job boring for young Tom.
In the early 1860s religion made a powerful revival in Ireland masses of people gathered in the metropolitan Hall in Dublin to hear the preaching of men like Henry Gratten Guiness.
Barnardo had very little time for such things he had an answer for all the amazing things that were happening around him. He called it “emotional Hysteria”. Most of his friends had converted to the revival, but he said that they would soon go back to their old ways. He was now an arrogant 17-year-old. Underneath he was more worried then he let people know. The power of the Gospel of Christ had made two of his brother’s convert. Concerned for Tom the brother’s tried to pursuade him to come to the meetings, in the end he agreed to go to a small meeting in the house of a friend, but all he did was behave badly and give cheek to the speaker.
He later wrote an apology to the speaker but instead of shouting at Tom he spoke kindly to him.
This disturbed Barnardo started to question all the things he had read, he no longer made fun of the religious beliefs of his brothers or friends, instead he could be found regularly attending the meetings not many weeks later one message really got to him he now knew for certain that not only had he been wrong not to believe in God but also he had deeply offended against his God. His brothers tried to help him by spending hours kneeling and praying with him.
In time the only books he read was the bible and other religious books.
He began to work for Christian services, he enrolled as a teacher in one of Dublin’s ragged schools. This was the first time he was such poverty for himself. He is known to have said “if I had a dog I would not let it live where I found these children”. He was still a very short tempered man and was known to walk with a cane but he no longer carried one in case he lost his temper with one of the children and hit them with it.
For a few years after he converted to Christianity he carried on teaching at the Ragged School, but he wanted to do more.
In 1866 he was introduced to a man named Hudson Taylor, Taylor was one of the first religious missionaries in China Barnardo was very impressed with Taylor’s description of all the opportunities for the gospel in China Barnardo volunteered for missionary service. At Hudson Taylor’s suggestion, Barnardo went to London to train.
When Barnardo arrived in London he decided to train at a doctor thinking this would be useful in China. While living in the East End of London he came face to face with more and more poverty, much more than he had ever seen in Ireland. In his short time in London he decided that he was needed here and not in China. In his decision, he was later to rescue children world-wide bringing shelter, education and work to the poor.
Not long after Barnardo arrived in London there was an outbreak of cholera in the East End killing more than 3,000 people and leaving families homeless and destitute.
Thousands of children slept on the streets and many were forced to beg after being injured in factories.
In 1867 Barnardo set up a ragged school in the East End, were poor children could get a basic education. One evening a boy at the mission, Jim Jarvis took Barnardo`s around the East End showing him children sleeping on roofs and in gutters, Barnardo was really shocked it affected him that much he decided to devote himself to helping all these destitute children. It was 1870 before Barnardo opened his first home for the boys in Stepney Causeway with a £1000 donation from an MP Samuel Smith.
He went out most nights into the slum areas to find homeless boys. One evening al 11 year old boy was turned away from the shelter because it was full. They boy was found dead two days later from malnutrition and hypothermia. From then on no one was turned away.
Not long after he opened they boys’ home he opened one for girls it was called the “girls” village home in Barkingside. It was a row of cottages around a green; it had enough room for 1,500 girls.
By the time a child left Barnardo`s they were able to make there own way in the world- the girls were taught domestic skills and the boys had learned a craft or trade.
Barnardo believes that families were the best places to bring children up. He started his first fostering scheme when he sent children to live with respectable families out in the country. He also started a scheme to board out babies of unmarried mothers. The mother went into service nearby and could see her baby during her time off.
In 1882 the boarding out scheme was started by Barnardo in Canada. The reason he sent children to Canada was because it was cheaper to send the abroad than to care for them in homes in Britain and he believed it would give the child a better start in life than it would would in the overcrowded slums of Britain.
Barnardo`s ran hundreds of children’s homes all over the UK until the 1970s they no longer run homes or orphanages but still worth with children and still carry the Barnardo`s name. They work with 100,000s of children a year, in schools, centres and their own homes.
Queen Invites Barnardo`s children to Party
On the 2nd June 03 Queen Elizabeth invited 200 Barnardo`s children to a party in her back garden at Buckingham Palace, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of her coronation.
The children aged between 6 and 12 years who used Barnardo`s services came from all over the UK and were with other children from other charities.
The Queen invited clowns, stilt-walkers and a circus show to entertain the children then they had a picnic tea with ice cream and candy floss.
Before they went home all the children were given a “goody bag” to take home with them and help them remember they day for the rest of their lives.
This poem is called three tracts, it was written in 1888 by Dr Barnardo`s about all his children.
“In cellar, in garret, in ally and court,
They weep and they suffer and pine
And the wolves of the city are prowling near
Back wolves. For the children are mine.”
Bibliography
Articles
Dr Barnardo- the children’s champion, By Faith Cook
Janet Hitchman- they carried the sword, Gollancz News
Web sites
www.barnardos.org.uk
www.goldonia.org/barnardo/barn-ordo.htm
www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/REBarnardo.htm
Books
Children’s Britannica Encyclopidia
The Man who didn’t go to China the story of Thomas John Barnardo, By Jessie Powell