In Morocco I heard the truest screams of joy of my life and I learned to feel grateful
In Morocco I heard the truest and most sincere screams of joy of my life. They were those of the guests of the orphanage “Le Nid”, “The Nest”, of Meknès at the arrival of us young volunteers.
For years my dream was to have a service experience in Africa and last summer I managed to make it happen thanks to Mission Exposure, which combines human and Christian growth with the subject of the academic studies of the participants. Together with nine other volunteers, accompanied and hosted by some Franciscan friars who have been working in Morocco for years, I served at an orphanage managed by the Rita Zniber Foundation, taking care of many abandoned children, some with severe motor and mental disabilities. Early in the morning we took care of the little ones, who need to feel human warmth because the nurses, whom everyone calls “mothers”, are few and far between and cannot always hold them in their arms. The rest of the day was devoted to recreational activities with the older children. We invented many games, such as bowling with bottles of water, but the best moments were those in which we listened to music and danced together, or even when we hugged each other in silence. More than activities, it mattered that we were there for them. The ward that houses disabled children is the largest: there are about forty of them, many of whom have been found in the middle of the street and there is no possibility of foster care for them. But it can happen that even able-bodied children are “adopted” by families who then decide to give them back.
“Why am I here?” It’s a question I asked myself several times during my stay in Meknès. “Why me? Why now?”.
I left with the idea of going and changing everything, then when I arrived in Morocco I realized that I wouldn’t have changed anything about the situation in which those children live. So, I almost felt guilty. All guests of “Le Nid” deserve a different life outside the four walls where they spend most of their time, even if they are lucky to be welcomed in a protected place, where everyone feels like brothers and sisters, can eat, take a shower and live in dignity. For some of them the main difficulty is to express themselves: it would be necessary to develop an alternative augmentative communication project, given that today there are various possibilities for interacting even for those with severe disabilities.
As far as I’m concerned, “care” and “simplicity” are two words that well convey the meaning of the lived experience: I learned to be more in the little things, to recognize the good fortune of having a family of my own and to appreciate all those intangible goods worth living for.