In a space where dreams are cultivated daily, new opportunities for life are reaped, as supported by UNESCO and the collaboration of committed partners of Saint Monica’s Home concluded with the success of the implementation in its installations of the project of a new community vegetable garden.
It is simple in its structure: a series of beds ready to receive the seed planting. Therefore, the particular circumstances of learning and the special situation of the beneficiaries of Saint Monica’s Home, make this simplicity acquire new, deeper meanings.
The children and adolescents supported in Saint Monica’s Home come from social contexts where they suffered abuse, abandonment, violence, any type of attack to their rights or serious risks of suffering. The competent authorities sent these victims to the Home to overcome these serious problems.
Now it provides its beneficiaries with a concrete experience of care, responsibility, coexistence and hope. Everything is done in a participatory way, from the preparation of the land and the seeds to the moment of planting, transforming the activity into an educational and therapeutic activity.
Accompanied by the technical team and educators, the beneficiaries place the land, prepare the beds, organize the inputs and collect the fruits that will be transformed into healthy foods. Between watering, smiling and much dedication, each participant experiences the joy of building something collective and lasting with their own.
Now they can understand the cycles of nature, develop healthy eating habits and strengthen values such as patience, perseverance and cooperation. Ultimately, caring for a plant requires responsibility and daily attention, respect for the times of growth and maturity, as well as confidence that your efforts will produce new fruits.
For many beneficiaries, who carry stories marked by situations of violence, abandonment or vulnerability, the contact with the land and the cultivation of life have a symbolic dimension. The seeds released only need care to germinate; and, at the same time, each beneficiary of Saint Monica’s Home knows that the institution is their own ground, that environment of protection, affection and new opportunities to rebuild their life and their future and be born for a different and dignified life.
For the institution, this allows the creation of new socio-educational activities, environmental education offices and activities aimed at promoting food safety. Throughout the year, the beds will receive different cultures, and the participants will aim to accompany all the phases of plant development, from seeding to flowering.
The orchard indicates day by day that it is possible to cultivate hope where before there was suffering, to make dreams come true where there were uncertainties and to gather the future where someone decided to accredit. As beneficiaries, especially, regain autonomy, knowledge, self-esteem and hope.
