A welcome unexpected event

A natural disaster in Bardonecchia and the route is canceled two days before leaving: an unwelcome unexpected event. A scout group from Rome already has tickets for Turin and decide to call Sermig.
The Arsenal of Peace, however, is packed with young people who have come for an already structured camp, while these kids have already planned some activities and need some free moments.
An idea comes to us: is it time to open the door of the Arsenale dell'Armonia for a whole week with the young people?
young people have always come, even before the fraternity lived there, indeed it is thanks to hundreds and hundreds of young people that the hermitage has finally taken shape.
Now, however, it's no longer just about working, it's about living together and not just a weekend.

The welcomed unexpected becomes Providence for us and their presence allows us to do many jobs more lightly. In just one afternoon we harvest all the potatoes, 400 kg. In a couple of mornings we finish arranging the wood.
During the summer months, the kindergarten in Pecetto did some important work to open a micro-nursery and all the classrooms needed to be tidied up, a huge job that we didn't know how to tackle on our own.
But it's not just manual work: we manage to involve the sick kids from the reception to spend time together; we delve into many aspects of life at Sermig.
At the end of the week, one last surprise: the route had no costs because it would have been entirely in tents, so they had already told us that they would not be able to make a large contribution towards the hospitality, but instead they decided to fund the common fund which it should have been used for all the activities of the year and not only: they involved the community leaders who remained in Rome to be able to give an offer taken from the savings of the other groups too.
They told us they learned what restitution is.
A friendship was born from an unexpected event.

Maria Claudia Brunello
Arsenal of Harmony
NP October 2023