A very honest and beautiful story from volunteer Marjan Aarnoutse. Thank you for helping out, and for sharing your thoughts Marjan!
By now it has been already a few days since I have returned to the Netherlands, after spending ten days at the ShowerPower house. In the past few days I have thought back and talked about all the beautiful moments. There are so many! There was this bigger boy, who spoke good english, and he was so caring, and making a heart with his fingers. The little girl who at first only looked around quietly and did not want to do anything, but an hour later she was playing with a ball, her face shining with joy. The boy who really wanted to have the bright pink wellies, but later left happily with the blue wellies his mother thought are more suitable. The mother with the two children who seemed to have everything under control, but had to wipe away her tears when she told us, with the help of Google Translate, that her father had just passed away, and that her mother (still in Iran) would be with her. The very grateful daughter with the confused mother, who was struggling with the window in the shower. The teenager girl who could not believe her luck when Teuna handed her a pair of sneakers with panther print.
Last night I was lying awake in bed, thinking about the highly pregnant mother with her four children. She was tired but choose to wash and dry all her children by herself. Her two sons were very good with duplo blocks. In no time they managed to build a huge piece of art using all the blocks. She told as that she recently moved into an ISO-box, which they shared with another big family. She was happy, with the baby coming, that she didn’t have to sleep in a cold tent anymore. At least now they had light, and it was not so cold anymore. That was it with the benefits, she still didn’t have a bed, water, or heating. I was happy for her that she would be able to have a hospital bed for a few days when giving birth. She left home in order to give her children a better future. For now the only thing she can offer them is her love. And this is what she is giving, despite her exhaustion.
Of course it’s not much, but I do feel a bit of joy from the thought that I could help to create a bit of light in the lives of at least 1% of the refugees who are in Moria. And I think ShowerPower is a beautiful concept.
