Each term, Lope de Vega School tries to raise awareness among students about the fact that not everyone is so fortunate, encouraging them to contribute money through collection boxes placed in every classroom in Primary, Secondary, and Baccalaureate levels. Last Thursday, May 2nd, we received a visit from two people we have been sheltering, along with the headmistress and Brother Benjamín from the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God. This Catholic Church association promotes the care and social reintegration of people who, for various reasons, have found themselves homeless. They reminded us of the essential values in life that we should always keep in mind.
To raise awareness among the students, they recreated a street scene in the classroom, a situation they themselves had experienced. First, they explained the 125-year history of the Order of Saint John of God, how throughout these years it has helped those in need, following the example of Jesus Christ. After this explanation, the students were given small pieces of paper on which to write what was most important to each of them at that moment—family, friends, happiness, health—and then they glued these papers onto the strings of a puppet, using the puppet as a metaphor for themselves and the strings for what was happening on the street.
The first man taken in, Jose, with scissors in his hand, explained that after falling into his addiction, the first thing he lost was his family. He cut the string from which the papers were hanging. He continued, explaining that the second thing he lost was his dignity, leaving the puppet unbalanced. Then Felix, the second man taken in, cut the remaining string from which happiness and other values hung, causing the puppet to fall to the ground. Once the puppet was on the ground, they had nothing left to carry on. Both said that once they were caught in their addiction, nothing kept them attached to life; they had lost everything. After some time, they explained that they began to reflect, and that's when Saint John of God appeared.
After a week, four students, along with Mr. Javier, went to the San Juan de Dios headquarters in Valencia to deliver the money that all the students had collected in the donation boxes. Brother Benjamin was waiting for us there. He showed us the hostel: a place where they eat, sleep, learn, and socialize. After touring the facilities, we went to the TANDEM workshop, where they learn how to work as a team, acquiring useful skills and keeping them occupied and distracted from their addictions. There, they made wickerwork, perfumes, hangers, and even had two small workshops, one for upholstery and the other for bicycle repair.
There, we met the two people we were helping who were visiting the Lope de Vega school. They themselves gave us a tour of the workshop, explaining the organization to us. Seeing their situation and appreciating how, despite having lost everything, they had managed to move forward and overcome their circumstances, made us reflect deeply. We hope that next year we can return to help them and contribute our small part to this important work.
Lara Fornés, Iris Martínez, Mar Roura and Blanca García.
-4th year ESO students-
Website of the Order of "Saint John of God": www.sanjuandediosvalencia.org
