There are a thousand reasons why you leave, sometimes the need to disconnect, perhaps to discover other places or simply to want to touch freedom with your fingertips.
On August 24, 30 young volunteers from 15 different diocesan Caritas, under the motto Together: let’s act today for a better tomorrow, We started our Way with the intention of getting to know the social reality and the different projects of both diocesan Cáritas through which we travel (Lugo yes Santiago) as well as the dioceses to which the different participating volunteers belong.
Total 10 days in which we got to know other perspectives and hopes, 10 days in which Cáritas Española put the Youth Voluntary Service at the center and gave us a voice to share our ideas, experiences and doubts.
In the hours of walking, and in the necessary moments of rest, we have woven into a splendid group of young people who have become good friends, a group in which, despite the fatigue, the pain, the blisters and the weaknesses, there was never a lack of laughter, smiles, messages of encouragement and hugs.
There are few times we’ve heard it Cáritas is the union of hearts, and this Way has shown young people that there are many hearts that unite us and that we are not alone in the task of volunteering.
The Camino de Santiago has allowed us to get to know ourselves and the people with whom we have shared it. The kilometers we left behind were full of stories, experiences and anecdotes that we told each other. Walking was the reflection of life itself, each with its limitations, difficulties and rhythms, but always united by the spirit of companionship and love.
From the first encounters and from the bus trip that would take us to Galicia, when we still had to overcome the shyness and vertigo of embarking on this adventure; going through the moments in which we realized that there are various types of backpacks, often invisible but no less heavy, that share a table from breakfast to dinner, admiring the view upon arrival from the Sarria in Portomarín; overcoming the heat upon our arrival at the Palas de Rei, in a stage where we learned the value of supporting each of our colleagues, and friends, and not leaving anyone behind.
Or take the step towards Melide, not only with the stimulus to try the delicious octopus but also thinking about which stones, tangible and metaphorical, we stumble upon or which even prevent us from moving forward as we would like. after we reached Arzua and we were welcomed in a small nearby town where we verified that Caritas is also the small community of people who, without fame or pretensions, reach out and appreciate the value of the volunteer.
In The Pedrouzo The desire to reach the coveted Santiago de Compostela, the end of a Way, was already in the air. And gathering our last strength, on August 30 we were able to admire the panorama from which we see for the first time the Cathedral of Santiago, the Mount Gozo, so that a few hours later you enter through the Pilgrim’s Gate superiorObradoiro ring proudly hoisting the Caritas coat of arms.
We set out convinced that the journey does not end in Santiago and that the most difficult task is the one that presents itself now, that of bringing to each of our diocesans what we have learned.
With these lines we would also like to thank once again the enormous work and commitment of the engine group and technicians, who have shown enormous organizational skills and without whom the Camino would never have been possible. Also send a special love message to Diocesans of Lugo and Santiago who have welcomed us with so much care and attention these days. Ultreia e Good way!
