Sephini

This week I went with some friends to a home called Sephini. Situated in the middle of the old city, Sephini currently houses 8 residents who are either mentally or physically handicapped (it is linked to the L’Arche community in France, for those of you who are familiar with that). I had such an enjoyable time visiting with them. Some of the residents speak Arabic, but since it is often difficult even for native speakers to decipher what they’re saying, I contented myself with smiling and drinking shai (tea) with them. I’ll describe some of them to you (I’ve changed their names below).

Ahmed’s job in the home is to answer the phone and the doorbell. He takes this responsibility very seriously. While we were there someone rang the bell – he immediately leapt to his feet and ran to open the door. I was told that during their weekly Mass, he and another resident are deacons, responsible for distributing the communion elements. It was remarkable to see how much meaning and dignity he gathers from performing these routine tasks.

Rawad and Gibran are two brothers who used to be residents at the government mental hospital. Gibran was bed-ridden, and since the care there was very poor, he was left to lie in his own filth. His brother Rawad was also a resident, and since he was mobile, he could work in the garden. For this work he was paid with cigarettes and occasionally bread, which he shared with his brother (thus keeping him alive). When they opened Sephini, they asked Rawad to come live there. He refused to go without his brother. At that time they had no facilities to care for someone who was bed-ridden, so they were unable to take them. They invited Rawad to come several times, but he always refused to go without his brother. Sephini finally worked out a way for them both to come. The remarkable thing is that within one week of being at Sephini, Gibran started walking. They say that now he doesn’t walk, he “hops” everywhere out of sheer joy. These two brothers are just one example of the remarkable work that Sephini is doing here in Syria.