Through the Solidarity Project of ETW France, our center near Paris, “La Ferme du Plessis” (Plessis Farm), opened its doors to 19 homeless families. The aim of this 5-day live-in event was to give the participants a sense of peace, social connectedness, and respite from their extremely difficult living conditions. The families participated in activities like music, dance, fence making, bee keeping, gardening, arts and crafts, and cooking workshops for making jams and stewed fruit purees. There also was swimming, picnics, hiking, sports and visits to the educational farm and gardens. The event concluded with a festive party, leaving both guests and volunteers feeling satisfied and enriched by the wonderful experience.
Feedback from the participants was very positive. One remarked, “Time seemed to stand still in this peaceful place. We’ll never forget this experience. We’ll always remember the calm, serene atmosphere as well as the fact that we could relax and get to know each other differently. We discovered a different way of sharing and being together. Thank you to the volunteers. We would like to come back soon!”
