Ed has been working for the last year on emergency preparedness for the Europe Central Area. One of the goals is to have prepositioned supplies in various countries. Our area humanitarian team participated in a survey on Monday to rate products and determine the correct numbers of items needed for individuals and families.
Sicily Road Trip
On Monday evening we flew to Sicily. The serendipitous part of having a flight delay in Rome is the fabulous Venchi gelato in the airport.
We met our Welfare and Self-Reliance Manager, Davide Lotito in Palermo, Sicily. We arrived after midnight and awoke to this view. We spent two days driving from one end of the island to the other visiting five NGO’s in four different cities.
Molti Volti (Many Faces) in Palermo
Moltivolti is a place where social inclusion meets contemporary Mediterranean cuisine. Immigrants from Senegal, Zambia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Ivory Coast, Gambia, and Tunisia have come together to break down barriers between locals and migrants. A restaurant and a gelato shop help support this NGO’s social work of integrating refuges into Italian society.
Our church donated a gelato machine, two freezers and the ingredients for gelato for one year. Emily has recently been trained in gelato making and lives independently in her own apartment as a result. The name of the shop ‘Barconi’ is a symbolic name. Bar (bar) Coni (cone) Barconi (the ships that migrants use to sail the Mediterranean route to a new life) When an immigrant is asked how they came to Italy it is usually a sign of disgrace to say ‘by barcon’ Now it is a name symbolizing empowerment and a way to move forward in their new life.
Centro Penc in Palermo
Penc is a Senegalese word that means ‘friends and family gather together.’ This NGO was founded by a university psychology professor who is trained to work with victims of abuse and violence. This safe space provides immigrant women with a place to gather, take Italian language courses, gain computer competence and psychological support. Our donation paid for a sliding door to divide the women’s space from the children’s space, items for the children’s play area, an air conditioner, strollers, diapers, and psychological sessions for 10 children.
The strong women who run this center were an inspiration! They hail from Italy, Ukraine, Ivory Coast, and Ghana. They believe that every woman who enters their center has something to offer and work hard to help each woman to recognize her gifts and share them. Many of the organizations we visited were operating in mafia confiscated property given to them after strict vetting from the municipalities.
Mediterranean Hope in Scicli
This migrant welcoming center offers after-school program for children, Italian languages classes for adults, and assistance accessing social services. 40 refugees live here as well. The donation here included welcome kits for children, clothing, food, school kits, and furnishings for the apartments including stoves and washing machines.
These young men from Afghanistan who live here were painting one of the apartments showing how beneficiaries give back. The family who lived here moved on to independence and they are preparing the apartment for the next arrival of migrants.
Terre des Homes in Ragusa
This NGO focuses on providing migrant minors and families with psychological support and assistance from landing to integration. This project provided salaries for educators, psychologists, cultural mediators, and pediatricians.
We had the privilege of speaking with a beneficiary to ask how this project had impacted her life. Her name is Confidence and that says it all. She came from Nigeria four years ago. She has a four-year-old non-speaking son. Terre des Homes has helped her husband get a job and they now have an apartment of their own. The paperwork to receive services for their four-year-old is complete and they have hope for the future.
We had the unique opportunity of participating in a psychosocial group session with five migrant women and their babies. The facilitator had us all write down or draw pictures of (some may have been illiterate) what the most important thing we could do for a baby’s development. After everyone shared the pediatrician gave his thoughts and then opened it up for questions. The discussion included breast feeding tips, speech development milestones, and how to help a four-month-old sleep through the night. These women meet every two weeks. The strength they gathered from this association and information sharing was inspiring. The facilitator spoke Italian. Three interpreters simultaneously translated into Arabic, French, and English.
Ragusa
Mani Tese in Catania
We visited Mani Tese’s secondhand store where they earn money to support their social programs by selling a variety of donated items.
They have also created a sewing training center for unaccompanied migrant minors and Italian boys who are under court order to give community service. This center in a low-income area hosts activities and workshops for the neighborhood and community schools. We followed one of the volunteers on her motorcycle to get from one location to the other. The donation included tailoring supplies, an IKEA kitchen, and garden tools.
Mani Tese is run by volunteers. These people are inspiring! The sewing teacher thanked us repeatedly for the donation. She hugged the sewing machine needles and told us now when a needle breaks, they can keep working. She creates designs from recycled clothing collected at the thrift store and teaches the young men how to sew. Several of them now have jobs sewing sails for sail boats at a local business. Another young man we met just completed a welding course paid for by Mani Tese.
Sicilian Specialties
Arancini, Cannoli, Granita Siciliana, and Pistachio everything (cannoli, gelato, pasta sauce and spread for toast)
German Road Trip
After spending Thursday in the office in Frankfurt, Friday morning we headed south on a road trip with Elder & Sister Muelleck.
Stuttgart
We spent the morning on a walking tour in Stuttgart
Sindelfingen
We toured the Mercedes Benz car factory in Sindelfingen
Esslingen am Neckar
We spent Halloween afternoon and evening in the charming village of Esslingen am Necker (Esslingen on the Necker river) This town has over 200 half-timbered houses including the oldest continuous timber frame front in Germany and a glockenspiel on the town hall.
We climbed the hill to the castle ruins for a beautiful view of the city. The vineyards looked like patchwork quilts with all the fall colors.
Baden-Baden
We spent a lovely Saturday morning in the spa town of Baden-Baden on the northwest border of the Black Forest. We rode the Merkur funicular up the mountain to see autumn in all its splendor.
We strolled along the river Oos.
Along with tasty treats we found some sobering stumbling stones.
We visited the Faberge Museum. We saw two of the 50 Imperial Easter eggs that were created for the Russian Imperial family from 1885-1916. Ten were produced during the reign of Emperor Alexander III. 40 more were created during the rule of his son Nicholas II, two each year, one for his mother the dowager, the second for his wife.
What a week! We fall into bed exhausted every night and feel that Heavenly Father blesses us to wake up renewed and ready to go again the next morning. We have been so blessed with good health despite all the traveling and exposure to so many people and places. We are so thankful for that and for the amazing people and places we get to meet and see as we serve.
With love, Elder & Sister Lamb (aka Ed & Debbie, Mom & Dad, Pop Pop & Tu Tu)
Sunday dinner at Elder & Sister Muehlmann’s apartment. They have been reassigned to Frankfurt. We are so excited to have them serve in the area office with us!
Lambs in Central Europe 