This woman lived in Central Africa, where her country was ridden by extreme violence. This is how she remembers it.
-“We were at a protest and they shot a young man. And this young man died. I watched him die.”
And they once tried to kill her as well. The woman managed to escape, but the following day she decided to leave her country. Her family stayed behind, and the consequences were tragic.
-“They killed my brother. He was a lawyer, he was 38 years old, and he left behind two kids: a 10-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl. They burned him in his house. When I saw the images, which I still have on my phone, I fell into a depression.”
Now she lives in this house run by the Scalabrinian Missionary Sisters. The missionaries help women find employment and integrate into Italian society. But for many of these women, the moral support they receive is the most important thing.
SR. ELEIA SCARIOT
Scalabrinian Missionary Sister
“The project is called 'Chaire Gynai,' and the objective is to help people become autonomous. Pope Francis promoted this initiative, and it's based on the four verbs he proposed: to welcome, protect, promote and integrate.”
Dozens of refugee women have passed through this house, some with children. For them, “Chaire Gynai” is like a trampoline, that helps them safely jump into the reality of an unfamiliar country where they one day hope to live autonomously. The name of the initiative is a Greek expression meaning, “Welcome, woman.”
They are vulnerable women who risk falling into prostitution or other forms of exploitation if they are not offered help.
JRB
TR: CT
AA
