Aged 21, Benoît Guthfreund is a volunteer with the Var delegation of the Order of Malta France. He combines several hats, marauder and rescuer. Naturally shy, the young man flourishes as his various missions progress. “I make myself useful. I need it, otherwise I have the impression of remaining in a form of inertia”, he testifies to Aleteia. Encounter.
Benoit is 21 years old. Sparse of his words, but not of his time; shy according to his words, or simply impressed by our questions, the young man does not spread out in a flood of words to evoke his commitment to the Order of Malta France. However, the journey of this very young volunteer is impressive. After his baccalaureate, he entered a performing arts license at the University of Grenoble in 2020. Like many young people, his student career was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. He decides not to continue his studies. “I decided that I was going to go into social work and personal assistance. It became obvious, I immediately liked this idea of helping others in difficult situations,” he says.
We grow enormously in contact with the street. Because we find ourselves faced with the misery of others, because we frequent it, without sometimes being able to offer anything other than a presence.
After a first experience of one month in the social centers of Chambéry, followed by another at the hospital of Hyères as a stretcher-bearer, Benoît found his vocation. Eager to train in first aid, the young man contacted the Var delegation of the Order of Malta France. As the rescue unit had not yet been set up, he then began an eight-month civic service with the social patrol teams. “We carry out patrols from Toulon to Hyères, via La Seyne sur Mer. Sometimes we extend the scope to smaller towns”, explains Benoît to Aleteia. The evenings are busy: the marauding begins at 6:30 p.m. and generally ends around 11:30 p.m. Almost nothing can be found of the introverted and inhibited young man. “We grow enormously in contact with the street. Because we find ourselves faced with the misery of others, because we frequent it, without sometimes being able to offer anything other than a presence. Let’s say it “calms down” a bit. We put our own daily life into perspective,” smiles Benoît.
Get out of your comfort zone
“Benoît was someone who was a little closed in on himself,” adds Monique Rolland, delegate of the Order of Malta France for the Var department. “He lacked self-confidence. Civic service made him happy and changed his life. He stepped out of his comfort zone, contact with the poorest helped him gain confidence. At the end of his civic service, Benoît became an employee at the SIAO (Integrated Reception and Orientation Service) 115 du Var, an organization integrated into the Samu social, and became a listener on the telephone line of ’emergency. His job: to assess the needs of callers, generally poor people, homeless people, in order to inform them of the measures designed to help them (access to basic care, right to be accompanied by a social worker, accommodation solutions temporary, etc.)
I owe everything to the Order of Malta. It is thanks to this association that I was able to develop my skills, enrich my experience and discover my passion.
During the year comes the moment that Benoît has been waiting for: the Var delegation of the Order of Malta France sets up the missing rescue unit. He becomes the deputy manager. An important role that Benoît takes on without swagger, but with real pride. Management of the unit’s staff, preparation of first aid stations, links with associations and prefectural, municipal and departmental authorities… “It’s a major responsibility, and I like it because I make myself useful. I need it, otherwise I have the impression of living in a form of inertia,” says Benoît.
Multiple interventions
Inertia, there is hardly any: from the intervention at the Bol d’or 2023, legendary motorcycle race at Le Castellet, to the management of migrants arriving by the Ocean Viking in Toulon, Benoît does not no time to be bored. Recently, the young man and his rescue unit were present at the International Aeronautics and Space Show at Le Bourget. The challenge was daunting, since it was necessary to ensure the safety of 50,000 and 80,000 people a day, circulating between five huge halls and an equally gigantic tarmac that visitors animate with an incessant coming and going to admire planes and rockets. . Discomfort, injuries of all kinds… First aid is provided with unparalleled know-how. “We carried out between 50 and 100 operations a day,” says Benoît, not without pride. “It’s a fairly intense pace that requires you to be always in action, ready to intervene. »
While Benoît has, after all, become indispensable to his delegation through the strength of his commitment, it is he who expresses his gratitude to the Ordre de Malte France. “I owe everything to the Order of Malta. It is thanks to this association that I was able to develop my skills, enrich my experience and discover my passion. I now know where my vocation is. »
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