Group of volunteers from Italy in Jerusalem

Today, Sunday, August 13, 2017, we bade farewell to the group of Italians that came to us for a week from Milan. The group consisted of 28 young people who divided up into three groups. One of these groups came to work in the Saint Rachel Center (including about 15 participants). The others divided up into two groups, one working in Gethsemane and the other in the children’s home run by the Sisters of Saint Vincent de Paul.

They spent the week on a variety of activities and animating a daily prayer which they had prepared before their arrival. Their success with the children could be seen and felt by all especially by the children themselves. The children collaborated with them in all the activities in an extraordinary way and enjoyed enormously all the games and activities hey had prepared. They were able to communicate wit the children despite not having any common language and they made a great contribution even in the short time that they were here.

The greatest help was on the day, Wednesday, that we took the children to the swimming pool. The number of children was around 73 and the presence of the volunteers was very significant on this day! In addition, a number of the girls in the group helped Benny decorate one of the walls in the center’s courtyard. The result is wonderful!

A special word of gratitude to the leader of the group and the one responsible for bringing the volunteers to us, Don Nicola. He visited Israel a few months ago in order to know the place, the team and the program in the summer and thus plan for the volunteers. This led to the creation of a great program that was suitable for the children. He also worked tirelessly to keep up the motivation and energy of the group right through the week.

We truly thank them from the bottom of our heart and hope to see them among us again soon!