Sharing Joy

This August a group of 8 young people from different localities of the SSCC of Spain we have embarked on the adventure of international volunteering from India

We have been accompanied at all times by brother Marco Giordimaina SSCC and Alicia Monjas. We have previously received training to be able to go with an open heart and with the desire to let ourselves be filled and touched by the love of God that is so present there. A mixture of feelings flooded me hours before embarking on the experience: nerves, fears, illusion, hope, confidence, etc.

Once we landed there, we left   a Bubhaneswar a very poor place, where Fr. was waiting for us. Ajit SSCC with open arms. His person reminds me of Father Damián who lived among lepers and helped whoever needed it most. This is him; director of the DSDI center (Damien Social Development Institute) who coordinates the 14 schools (Tuition Centers) and the different leper colonies run by the SSCC.

Because yes, even if they don't tell us, they are still there lepers. These are expelled from society (including the whole family) and the congregation welcomes them, gives them shelter and treatment for leprosy. The great work he does is impressive. Hopefully we can continue to help so many people who need it. I can affirm that I have had the privilege of being there with God's favorites, those whom society rejects.

We have visited the different schools, many of which were destroyed by Cyclone Fani that razed entire villages months ago, being with children from very poor families who lived with nothing in villages. I was surprised to learn that they only have one meal a day. We have been with them dancing, singing, playing... in short, "sharing joy" because they have given us so much. Although it may not seem like it, they have much more than us. In reality, they have the most important thing: Love. In the end it is what fills the person and makes him overcome himself day by day.

There we also had the opportunity to be with families of lepers who proudly showed us their "houses"; sacred places where whole families lived sharing a space even smaller than a room of ours. When I took off my shoes and entered through those small doors and entered little by little inside, I realized what was important. I was really surprised how they lived and how they did it with so little. They slept on the floor, without a leg or mattress. How often do we complain about what we lack and how little we consider what others lack! This experience makes me make sense of what is really important, questioning the value we give to things.

Finally, we have been volunteering with the MC (Madre Teresa Foundation) in Calcutta with women and men with physical and mental disabilities.

Once we arrived in Calcutta, what surprised me the most was the poverty you find while walking through its streets; people living in the street among rubble, children alone begging, streets flooded by the rain, its smell that characterizes it so much... So, Calcutta for me has been a harsh and shocking reality that has made me discover another world, making me come out of myself comfort zone

This experience has been a total gift for me; discover the needs of others and ultimately see my weakness giving importance to what is really important.

I could say that it has been a month full of emotions in which I have discovered human greatness. If I had to choose, I would go with the people, especially with their looks, those that fill your heart and tell you that yes, it is worth being there with them and for them.