We went to Damanhur!

We, the “Fire Phoenix” learning group of the Escola da Esperança project, 6 youngsters aged 11-13 and 3 adults, made a road trip to Damanhur, a community in Italy, in February 2023.

The entire journey lasted 3 weeks. Many of us had never been on such a big journey before and to be together for so long, so it was a new experience for all of us.
Through our experience, we find that such journeys offer a unique richness into the learning process of the students that is difficult to create in conventional school settings. Such a journey – including the fundraising, pre-journey preparations and after work – becomes a big communitarian process that trains teamwork and motivates the students to meet new challenges. The joy of being together on the road and the excitement of meeting other youth and cultures become part of the invisible classroom which goes on 24 hours a day.
One way to approach growth in self-awareness is meaningful contact with other ways of living – which leads to genuine curiosity of one’s own life circumstances. In addition, such journeys support the youth in feeling part of the global community.