On Friday, we had the opportunity to visit Boy's Town in the outskirts of Rome. The trip was very interesting and a lot different than what I expected. I pictured the site to more of an orphanage, but it was actually a lot like a summer camp. The entire place was very well kept, and it seemed like a great place to live if you were a kid with no place to go. I thought the art center was the most interesting thing there because the art work was so beautiful. There was a large amount of pottery that was painted with extreme precision. Most of the pieces looked like they could sold in pottery stores in the state. They were that good!
Most of the pieces were made by kids that were under 15 years old. The boys come from all over the world. Most of them currently come from the middle east, which makes sense with all of the turmoil going on over there. Most of the boys who live in Boy's Town are Muslim. There was a Catholic Church located in the town, but the children were not forced to practice any specific religion. We had a chance to meet the current mayor of the town, and ask him questions. He was just your average kid. For some reason I thought the kids were going to be overly mature, because of what I had learned about their government. This really wasn't the case, the kids joked around and seemed to be just like I was when I was their age. Before we went to the site, we discussed how we thought the government ideology would hinder a young kids childhood. I really didn't see that to be the case at all.
Overall, Boy's Town seemed like a very welcoming and safe place for the children to stay. I am very glad I had the opportunity to visit such a unique environment.
No comments:
Post a Comment