This past weekend, the members of the Eritrean Youth of the Fourth Front (EYFF) planned and part took in another event. The main aim of the formation of this group was to create a space for the Eritrean diaspora youth to connect with each other. The group also holds different events that they organize within themselves. Since the goal of the EYFF events is to try to contribute to the country and the people, the members of the group decided to volunteer again at the Center for the Mentally Disabled in Mai Temenai, Asmara.
The Center for the Mentally Disabled called Enda Seal is a mental institution that helps and accommodates the mentally ill citizens of Eritrea. This past weekend the Center not only gained help from the local youth but also from a number of gathered amount of members of the EYFF. The amount of people that were there to help out was very impressive.
Since the EYFF helped out the first time at the center last month major changes where seen at the center except for the beautiful faces welcoming them with open arms and even recognizing some of the members. The first difference the group realized about the center was the garden also mentioned in our first article. The garden which was still at the early stages of being fixed has progressed massively and is now nearly fully built. Seeing the progress was not only surprising to the members but they also felt very proud of the youth that contributed their time and effort to complete the project. Another difference the group was very happy about was the task they were given. When the EYFF came in May they were only told to hand out the lunch since the staff was not sure if the group could handle more keeping in mind that it was the first visit for most members.
The group left a good impression on that day and the staff was very thankful for the help. Therefore, they gave the group two tasks this time which was cleaning the center since it was cleaning day and handing out lunch. Even though it is hard to imagine that a group of young people could have fun cleaning, the Saturday cleaning day was filled with a lot of laughter. The members were chatting to other local youths who help out on a regular, making jokes with them and connecting so much that most forgot that they were actually doing hard work. The patients were also joining the conversations giving the group an unforgettable time.
All in all, the EYFF had another successful event at the Center for the mentally disabled. Everyone had a great time, learning something new and at the same time giving back where they can. This will definitely not have been the last visit for the EYFF. It is not a “goodbye” but a “see you soon”.
Batsieba Berhane