Hola! My name is Silvia, I am 26 years old and live in Cuneo.

I began my journey with ASCS a few years ago while looking for a university internship that would allow me to gain experience abroad in the area of migration. During the Outbound Volunteer Course, it was pleasant to discover that I shared many goals and ideals with the association.

After some time, I left for La Paz, Bolivia, for 3 months. It was a bit of a stepping stone, which fueled the desire to share even more of my journey with other people. So, shortly after my return, I flew to the mission in Guatemala City, where I served for 9 months..

This time I have it tattooed in my heart; it has been everydayness, passion, discovery, pissing off and misunderstandings. Accompanying people on their journey for a single night at first may seem superfluous, uninfluential in their journey. It actually creates a huge wave around you and around them, that of caring for each other. When migrants enter the reception facility, they are interviewed: in addition to asking for classic generalities, one point on which a lot of emphasis is placed is the fact that that, even if only for one night, is THEIR HOME: Casa del Migrante, in fact. Not just any house, where you go in and out without having made a difference, but your house, which you have to take care of, because at least for one night you will live in it. Home not only for people passing through on their journey to the great American dream, but Home also for the volunteers and the people who work there.

I would like to dwell on the kindness of the comrades and companions with whom I shared my days, their willingness to welcome and support the volunteers, who were often so distant from them in language and culture. Such work requires passion, dedication and sacrifice ..

Thanks to them, in addition to feeling at home, I felt like family. A few people made a difference during these months: when I was on my own for lunch, Killy would invite me to his house to cook his famous pupusas; when I missed home, Edizon would hug me so hard that he recharged my batteries; when I caught a cold, Walter would fill me with tissues and mint candies because the local antibiotic tal vez te hace dan o; when I didn’t understand Guatemalan dialects, Karina was ready to translate them to me in the simplest Spanish; when I didn’t understand so much what God had to do with it all, Father Francisco and the seminarians told me to wait: thus came a huge donation of bread just when there was none left.

All these attentions were daily to all the people in the house, and the accompanying smiles made me feel proud of the service I participated in.

In the end, it only matters in part whether the house is old or modern, large or small, downtown or suburban. It is the quality, the goodness of the people who live it and make it Home that allows you to do work that really matters.

So, what wish ASCS, is to continue to be filled and enlivened by real, fresh, empathetic people with light in their eyes and fire in their hearts. To continue to be an extended family, both for the people who live it daily and for those who have known it only in passing.