7 days ago
“Do you know when the feeling of loss you get from opening a puzzle and seeing all the little pieces scattered? And suddenly all the pieces find their right place, the perfect fit. That’s the feeling of arriving in the NPH house Santa Fe Rancho. As soon as you get there you feel lost, you are thrown in a life that is not yours. Your comforts, your daily life, your happy hours, your school, your “social network life” stop existing. But all you need is a “Hola padrino”, a smile, the same cheerful eyes you left the year before, the warm of a hug and the sense of loss disappears. You stop caring about the different time zone, the fatigue from the journey and everything you left behind. Twenty people coexist and, like in a puzzle, pieces fit together naturally because, in the end, the only thing that matters is the final result. You know that two weeks of work await you. Nevertheless, the farm work, painting, raking the grass are of little importance as you know that, at the end of the day, you will come back to those smiles, those eyes, those hugs which will give you the strength to start a new day.
Before leaving Italy people asked me “Why are you going?” and I answered “Because I want to visit my adopted children”. But, after coming back, I would say “I went to Honduras to find my second family. I’m not only referring to my adopted children, but to everyone living in that House, including the volunteers like me”.
In the end, you hold the last puzzle piece in your hand and go back to where you began. You realize that time goes by so fast that, without even noticing it, it’s already time to say goodbye. You see all the children crying and, while you’re trying to hold back your tears, you understand that you could never live without them. You get on the airport shuttle that will take you to your usual life and finally you let the tears fall…”
- Basilio from Rome
