MUCH has been written about Tom Scully the footballer, the boy who grew up in Berwick, the No. 1 draft pick who is headed for Melbourne after last Thursday night's AFL national draft.
But what of Scully the person, the unassuming teenager thrust into one of Australian sport's brightest and most probing spotlights?
In an interview with The Dandenong Journal last year [April 21], before he became football's hottest property, Scully revealed himself as a caring and thoughtful young man, a credit to his family, an inspiration to his generation, someone the Demons and the AFL should be proud to have in their ranks.
The former Dandenong Stingrays mid-fielder spoke about his "life-changing" visit to the world's first AIDS village during an under-17 Australian Institute of Sport AFL Academy tour of South Africa.
Built by the Christian group Sparrow Ministries, the village west of Johannesburg aims to provide hope and dignity for nearly 500 men, women and children dying of AIDS.
Scully and several of his touring mates held a clinic for the children at the village during which he befriended a boy.
He admits to shedding a few tears over his fate, and the fate of many other children at the clinic.
"We saw a lot of kids dying of AIDS. We couldn't help but feel for them and get close to them.
"Looking one [a boy] in the eyes was heartbreaking. I tried to hold back the tears, but I couldn't help it in the end.
"The inspirational thing for me was that all the kids were always smiling and happy. I think we brought them a lot of happiness and joy with the clinic.
" It was so satisfying. It was an experience I will never forget. It taught me not to take life for granted. When things go wrong, I just think about kids at the village."
Scully and the rest of the 30-member squad also toured Soweto and Cape Town and saw first hand the poverty people lived in.
"There are families of six or seven living in what is basically a tin shed no bigger than my bedroom. Their living conditions are terrible: we are so lucky in Australia."
They played a "friendly" international against a South African team and held coaching clinics for about 100 children who wore jumpers donated by Fremantle, West Coast and Collingwood.
Scully said the children "loved Aussie rules" and adapted to it quickly. "South Africa has a huge population to promote and develop the game. Who knows, in the future, we could see as many South Africans playing in the AFL as there are Irish."
In response to Scully's story, The Journal, in partnership with the Dandenong Stingrays regional manager Darren Flanigan, instigated a plan to raise funds for the AIDS village in South Africa.
Scully grew up in Berwick with his parents - father Phil, who played VFA football for Dandenong in the 1980s, and mother Nardja, in a family of Richmond supporters.
Place where kids can die in dignity
SPARROW Village in South Africa is the first AIDS village in the world. It provides a hospice for the dying, a training centre and a base from which to educate the public about HIV/AIDS.
More than 15 years ago, the Reverend Corine McClintock found a man on the streets dying of AIDS and took him home to die in comfort and dignity.
A week later, six other men with AIDS had found refuge in her home.
Soon, her house was full of abandoned AIDS babies, brought to her by police who had heard of her generosity.
She took in children who were destitute and searching garbage dumps not only for food but for the warmth the rotting rubbish provided during the cold South African nights.
Ms McClintock expanded her care centre as a place where AIDS sufferers could live in peace and dignity - a place called Sparrow Village.
The village cares for 500 people, including 200 children.
Sparrow Ministries believes no child should live or die alone.
Among all the human tragedy and despair it sees every day, it promotes a positive message to its patients of "Get up and live".
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