“Volunteer’s voice” by Summer intern Yohann

Yohann Andjembe

May 23, 2019

St. Francis Home Visit

On Friday, May 17th, 2019 afternoon, I had the pleasure to visit St. Francis home, which is a Catholic home for children managed by nuns. I was pleased to be introduced to the staff working at the home and the children living there as well. Before my visit, all the information I had regarding the homes were just numerical data based on the home profiles. To physically visit one of the houses and children brought me a new lifelike perspective. Upon my arrival, I was greeted by one the nuns and was taken to the dining area where another YouMeWe volunteer named Gerhard originally from the United States was waiting for me. He went ahead and introduced me to four young boys. It was a delight to meet all four of them. Also, I was surprised to witness that their English level was not that bad. We managed to get to know one another and have a decent conversation. 

Then, the boys, Gerhard and I had a delicious Japanese dinner. For instance, I had the opportunity to taste a dish called Natto, which is a local Japanese dish well appreciated here by Japanese people. Natto is made from soybeans fermented with Bacillus subtilis var. natto. It certainly tasted different from what I am used to, but it was not bad at all. Throughout dinner, I've learned a little bit about the boy's background and the reasons that led them to live at St. Francis. Finally, right after our nice dinner, Gerhard, the kids and I spent the rest of the evening playing a series of card games until it was time to call it a day.