travel 4 thoughts

Today arrived the day for the ceremony of the new centre in Abomey.

We left Dassa at 7.20am and gone to leave our stuff in a ‘hotel’ in Abomey before going to the orphanage. The ‘Auberge’ did have neither water not electricity when we got there… We put our luggage in one room and we asked to put the mosquito nets in the others.

The ceremony started at 10.30am-there was a hectic activity all around and even the nuns were going a bit ‘mad’.

Amongst the guests, there were some ministers, in the family, health and public forces sectors.

We sat in the second row for the mass, behind Aleimar (another NGO) and our two presidents of ‘Amici di Francesco’.

The ceremony was really NICE!!! The priest also cut the string to symbolise the opening.

There was a local group that was entertaining us with music and dances.

We joined them dancing and we spent a lovely time having fun in such a simple and genuine way…It does not require much to really embrace the little things in life that ultimately are the most fulfilling. We all can achieve this….although it takes discipline to train ourselves on a new mindset…the one that enable us to truly benefit from the simple joys, defocusing from what we think it is missed in our lives.

And YES, whoever is doubting that IT IS POSSIBLE to have fun in an orphanage from a poor remote area of west Africa,

IS WRONG!!!!!

We left around 4pm. Went back to the auberge to take a shower and go for dinner somewhere. It was the 5 of us with Clelia, another Italian lady working there.

The highlight of today was certainly confined in the words that the priest shared during the mass.

The key message was for all of us….to be the ambassadors of the changes we want to see in the world through our love, respect for others and compassion.

They spoke both in French and Italian and all the way during the mass I gave all the LOVE I could to the very little IZIAK (called Francois Marie by the mum).