A month in the Old City of Jerusalem helping Christian families: “a unique experience”

José Carlos is a young engineer from Albacete (Spain) who decided to spend his summer holiday as a volunteer in the Holy Land. For somewhat more than a month he has been working at the Technical Office of the Custody of the Holy Land as part of the project “Jerusalem, Stones of Memory”, and these are his thoughts as his period of service comes to an end. These weeks have been a unique experience. I wish everyone could have a similar experience, so that they would then be able to tell what they had seen and experienced in the Holy Land, the mother land of what we are. It wouldn’t have been possible for me to come here without the opportunity provided me by ATS pro Terra Sancta, assisting in the preparation works for one of the phases of the project “Jerusalem, Stones of Memory”.

The work in the field allowed me to get to know a number of families living in the Old City of Jerusalem: their way of life, and above all their great hospitality. It was wonderful and one learns much from those who need only very little to live on, and for whom everything they have – be it a little or a lot – they freely offer to others.

In carrying out my task of measuring and drawing plans for the houses, preparing the groundwork for future restorations, I became aware that many of these houses are very small, and in urgent need of interventions in order to prevent water leaks and humidity…

I believe this project is a very important one, not only for preserving the residences themselves but also for preserving the presence of the families who live in them, who form part of the foundation of the Old City.