It is always hard to wake up when you feel tired. I went to the bathroom to take a cold shower. It was January 20th. We were close to finishing our mission as Youth Ambassadors in Cleveland, Ohio. When I thought about it I made a huge effort to block these painful, unnecessary thoughts from my mind.
Today we had a meeting with thousands of youths around the stated through a video conference. Yuri came to pick us up at Westlake High School and drove us to Ideastream WVIZ/PBS. It is an Educational Technology Agency which provides quality distance learning services to schools in Northeast Ohio and across the state. The place had a huge structure, with cameras, special lamps, everything that a TV station should have.
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| Televisions inside of Ideastream WVIZ/PBS |
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| Students taking part in the Conference |
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| Gilmar Matos, Layse, Janailton Mick and me talking to students |
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| CAri, Jennifer and Gina watching the conference |
We were hosted by the interviewer and by the Director of Distance, Mr. John R. Ramicone. They talked about the equipment before the beginning of the conference. Cari and Jennifer came and watched the video conference. There were approximately ten schools connected to us. They asked questions about Brazil. We talked a lot about the economy, educational system, global warming, and mainly about our volunteer work and social justice.
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| Youth Ambassadors with their certificates |
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| Youth ambassadors inside of Ideastream WVIZ/PBS |
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| Youth ambassadors inside of Ideastream WVIZ/PBS |
At the end of our conference, the coordinators of the Ideastream WVIZ/PBS handed each of us a certificate, and gave us free gifts from the TV station. We thanked them and we left.
Now we visited one of the most touching places we went while in the United States: Malachi House. Alice Sawyers, the volunteer coordinator, hosted us as we arrived.
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| Youth ambassadors in front of Malachi House |
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| Alice Sawyers talking about Malachi House |
She showed a video about Malachi House history and mission. It was really touching. The Malachi House was founded in 1988 and is a private, non-profit home for poor, terminally ill people with six months or less to live. It is not a hospital or nursing home. Malachi House instead, offers them a private room in a warm, secure environment, home-cooked meas; and mainly, love. Love that was noticed through her speech. Gina told us that Alice Sawyers was a kind of an angel. She was right. I have never seen a person with such incredible power with words and such a warming soul.
After introducing the Malachi, she steered us to walk around the house. She also stated that the house was only supported by donations. The structure of the Malachi House was amazing. Everything was clean and organized. As we walked, we saw a flower placed on a bed. They do this when a person recently passes away. Alice Sawyers invited us to have lunch with them.
They put down a tablecloth with the colors of Brazil's flag. After lunch I talked to a volunteer. Since the first moment, I realized that Malachi is like an NGO where I work in Brazil. The difference is that they do not help children, but poor, terminally ill people that are middle-aged or seniors. They had bedrooms, a chapel, similar rules that we use at GACC (Supporting Group to Children with Cancer). We all show love, the most important thing in this kind of work.
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| Tablecloth |
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| Having luch at Malachi House |
We also walked around to see more bedrooms, and we played with a dog that came to Malachi to stay with people there. Through this visit, I noticed that no matter where you are, there are always people trying to help others and fight for their good. The Malachi house is a model and a life lesson. At the end, we went to the chapel and talked more to Alice Sawyers. She told us her history at Malachi and how meaningful this work is for her. As we left the house, everyone was touched by her words.
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| Youth Ambassador João playing guitar |
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| Malachi House's chapel |
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| Youth Ambassadors at Malachi House with Alice Sawyers and volunteers |
The last organization that we visited today was the Cleveland Food bank at the Zion Union Church of Christ. They give support to the homeless in Cleveland giving daily meals. We talked to the homeless about our communities in Brazil.
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| Zion Union Church of Christ |
I also had the pleasure to talk to a gentleman who was supported by the Food Bank. He told me about his daily life and the problems he faces as a homeless man, such as violence in the streets.
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| This is me inside of the church |
Gina took us to do sightseeing in gardens located in Cleveland. As we stepped out of the van, it started snowing hard. It became the best environment to play in the snow.
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| One of the gardens located in Cleveland, Ohio |
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| Youth Ambassadors playing in the snow |
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| In front of West Lake High School |
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| My host brother and me in front of the Bailey's family |
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| Katlyn and me |
At night, I realized again that the next day would be our last day in Cleveland with a full schedule of activities. The time I had in the United States seemed to be a whole year to me because of the intensity of the happenings.
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