Hi everyone! I’ve completed my first week of my Leadership in Action experience and I’m happy to share that it’s going well! I’m getting to know the rhythm of the center and better understand what I can do to help. 

I’m currently in Rome working with a center that houses, educates, and cares for unaccompanied foreign minors, children who have immigrated to Italy from non-European countries and ended up on their own. This center is pretty small, it houses about a dozen kids at any given time. The kids range in age from about 12 to 17. So far, I’ve mostly been spending time with the two youngest kids who are both under 14. The older kids get to go out on their own for a few hours in the afternoon when they aren’t busy with schoolwork or chores, but the two younger kids aren’t old enough to do that. I’ve been helping out to keep them entertained. 

We've been doing a mix of games and learning. One time, we played Uno together, and it made me realize what a universal game it is! It worked really well for us, because the simplicity of the game meant that the language barrier wasn't such a big deal. Both the boys are from Egypt so they speak a form of Arabic, which I don't speak at all, as well as a bit of Italian that they've been taught since arriving in Italy. We were able to communicate pretty well with Italian, and they even taught me some new rules that they like to play by (I had no idea stacking was a thing!). 

Another day, one of the staff members suggested I try to teach the boys some English. It went super well and ended up being really fun! The boys were really patient and receptive but also very fun and energetic. One of them knew a decent amount of English already and was able to help the other along. I taught them how to introduce themselves, how to say where they were from and where they lived, and the English words for some basic objects we spotted around the center.