We landed at Dar es Salaam International Airport in Tanzania in the early afternoon. Some of us set foot in Africa for the first time and the state of the only international airport in a country of more than 12 million inhabitants and more than 26,000 square kilometers was a good image to understand the current situation in East Africa. The airport is a structure from the 60's, old and rickety. Tanzania is a vast, poor and peaceful country. Quiet because, unlike most of the countries around it, it has always had a peaceful internal situation and a serene coexistence. But that has not stopped him, like his neighbors, is having a hard time growing economically, and its infrastructures are backward and insufficient for the increase of the country's population.

After several hours of driving and endless traffic jams, we arrived at the complex Città della Gioia (The city of Joy, in Italian). Father Fulgencio, a Passionist elder, had repeatedly tried to get his congregation to assign him to Tanzania to work as a missionary with the poor, whom he helped during their rest periods during the summer. But it wasn't until, as an old man, he was diagnosed with incurable cancer that his congregation gave him permission to go to Tanzania to work for whatever time he had left. "Baba" (dad, in Swahili) Fulgenzio, as children affectionately call him, has already 15 years in Tanzania to the amazement of many, and continues to fight day by day for the children and those in need of the community. Shortly after arriving, he decided to found an orphanage for children whose parents died of HIV. For this, the Government required him to become the legal guardian of these children. And so he did. Actually, is the legal guardian of 95 boys and girls living in his orphanage, and the number continues to grow as the Tanzanian Government, unable to cope with all the orphans it encounters in a country with a life expectancy of only 67 years, often asks him to take over the guardianship (and with it, the maintenance and education) of more children. And besides the orphanage, the center welcomes another 1,200 children who go to school daily, coming from needy environments, and it has several facilities that have been built with great effort, such as dining rooms, a pavilion, dormitories, playgrounds, etc. The Slime founded a congregation of Tanzanian nuns (the Mothers of the Orphans) that currently has almost 30 sisters in addition to a hundred aspirants, who help with the education of the children and the management of the orphanage.

We realized that they had a deep affection for Baba Fulgenzio, and that he had instilled in them a strong feeling of gratitude and the desire to study hard to learn a lot and, as adults, to be able to help other children and their country.

In the morning of the first day we were able to visit all the facilities, particularly those for childcare (rooms, play areas, dining rooms, bathrooms ...) but also those of the school, from kindergartens to high school classrooms, as well as the common and playing areas of the school. Although in all facilities the scarcity of resources is evident they have, it is also perceived, in the order and cleanliness that reign everywhere, the love and dedication of those who take care of the children. Later the 'Baba' took us to visit the kitchens, and in particular a part of it that has been opened to the street and in which bread, rolls and some sweets are sold to the people. They hope that over time this activity can grow and serve not only to finance the growth of the institution, but also to offer young people the possibility of learning a trade that can give them better job prospects. Throughout the day we were surrounded by the children of the orphanage, who came and went and tried to explain to us, a little with gestures and a little in English (the second official language of Tanzania after Swahili) what their house was like and how their life was developing. day to day.

The next day we had the opportunity to talk more time with the children. We asked them about their life at the Città della Gioia, about the future they expected, about their academic training ... We realized that they felt a deep affection for him Slime Fulgenzio, and that it had instilled in them a strong feeling of gratitude and the desire to study hard to learn a lot and, as adults, to be able to help other children and their country.

We also took the opportunity to take a walk around the surroundings, an area of suburbs about 20 km from the center of the capital. As soon as you leave the place, on the road, there are shops, bazaars and small businesses of all kinds, from workshops to mobile phone shops (surprisingly this area of Africa is the world leader in mobile payments, since the vast majority of the The population has no resources and therefore they are banned from accessing the traditional banking system). The road is a chaotic coming and going of people and vehicles, and accompanied by Nicola, an Italian aid worker who spends several months a year helping the Slime, we realized, by the smiles and affectionate greetings they gave us, that Neighbors appreciated what the center did for the community. Because these types of institutions not only benefit children or young people directly, but indirectly affect an improvement for everyone around.

In the just 2 days that we were able to spend there, we learned a lot, we enjoyed the company of extraordinary people, and we understood the importance of this project for thousands of people. We met first hand the need for affection and companionship of children who have lost everything, who have been left alone and whose future, without a center like the Città della Gioia, would be uncertain and dangerous. We were also able to discover how for them any small gesture, from a smile to a little help of any kind, means much more than we imagine; For someone who is completely dependent on others, finding understanding and love in others is the most wonderful thing that can happen to them.

At VIS we help the Città della Gioia and we will continue to do so: Baba recently decided to open a similar center in a nearby community, some 50km away, which they have dubbed Città della Luce (City of Light). There they have been able to build some structures, and from VIS Foundation we are helping them to furnish the classrooms, finish painting and decorating the center and other works in the facilities so you can open up and start helping the community as soon as possible.

We left Tanzania with a smile, but with great sadness and desire to return. We have been moved by the situation of need in which so many people, so many children find themselves, and how despite the difficulties they know how to get ahead, keep smiling and keep fighting to survive and, perhaps, build a better world.