For a few days the whole novitiate community went to Tunis to visit our sisters. The excursion was well organized and it was a wonderful experience. We visited the projects our sisters had established in some other places around Tunis.

Our first stop was in a ceramic shop where we could see the local people working on making and painting different things like cups, pots, bowls, etc. In Hammamet they have a very special kind of clay but at the moment this work is very difficult because of the devastating flood of six months ago.

We went to a creche, where 15 babies are taken care of. These babies belong to single mothers, who leave them there because they are unable to care for them. The mothers visit them often and will take them home when they are able to take care of them, usually one year later. The sisters and the personnel are very friendly and really care well for the babies. They also work to secure the rights of the mothers.

On a poster as you enter the building, you read this message, “Everyone has the right to have a mother.”

Another visit was to a school for deaf children. The children with disabilities are assisted by professional teachers, who help them to learn how to speak and to perform different kinds of skills.

The first of March, 1882 was the day when our sisters opened the first school in Tunis. We went to see the place where our school used to be. Today there is a bank on the site.

We ended our trip with a visit to the cemetery in Tunis where 43 sisters are buried. We gave thanks to the Lord for their work and their committed life to God in Sion.

Iulia NDS
Ein Karem 07.03.2019