(ANS - Manouba)- In recent months some Sicilian volunteers went to Manouba, Tunisia, to help in the oratory and school run by the Salesian community, which belongs to the Sicilian Province. Here is the testimony of Claudia:

Tunisia, what an unforgettable experience! After returning from two weeks in the Salesian house of Manouba I am already missing everything I experienced there. In those two weeks I felt at home, as if I had been there a lifetime and could never leave it. Two weeks made up of sounds, colours, smells, tastes that I will not easily forget. Two full weeks, lived with the young people of the Oratory and the School, tiring yes, but full of emotions ...

I got there a little bit fearful, very tired from the long trip, and quite disoriented by my first impressions of the city and the difficulty of a language I did not know. However, it was enough to meet the young people and all my doubts and fears vanished ... I was welcomed and immediately we became friends.  The language of the heart overcomes all difficulties!

We spent the first week with about forty young people from the Oratory. We joined them in sports training (for which we were prepared), but also for lunch, games, fun and laughter as we took up various challenges in the games room. At the end of the day we didn’t want to leave. They are  beautiful, simple young people, with a special light in their eyes that makes them unique.

During the second week, school had resumed. We started our experience with the nearly 700 students who flock to the classrooms every day. We did some training with the older pupils  and introduced a variety of games to involve the smaller ones. It was hard work, more than four hours non-stop between training and competitions.

The life of the community ... A special thanks to Fr Domenico and Roberto: It was nice to live in community with them, just like a big family! From the beginning, they opened their home to us and put everything at our disposal. The times of shared prayer were special: simple and at the same time intense, they gave us the energy and enthusiasm to face the long days.

Saying farewell to the young people I said “a bientôn”  - see you soon - because I'm sure I will be back. I am thinking about it already ... I do not know exactly when, but we'll all be back, I'm sure of it  ... Manouba, a bientôn!

Published 13/06/2014