From Strangers to Friends: My Fraternity in Action Journey

This summer, Amelia Wilson of the St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy community travelled to Scampia, Naples, as part of the Lasallian Fraternity in Action volunteering programme. Alongside supporting local children through football, arts and crafts and trips to the beach, they took on practical work to improve shared spaces: clearing overgrown areas, building a volleyball court, and repairing a broken table tennis table, among other maintenance jobs. What made the experience meaningful, they say, was never the tasks themselves but the relationships built along the way: being welcomed into a community rather than simply visiting it, and discovering that the friendships formed across cultures were the real gift of the trip. They arrived as strangers and left as friends - a phrase that, for them, captures the true meaning of fraternity.

The experience has reshaped how they think about justice and service back home, moving from occasional acts of kindness toward a more consistent commitment to solidarity, particularly with communities that can feel forgotten. That commitment is now taking shape through Beyond Borders, a new project connecting St Margaret Ward with Lasallian communities in Lebanon. Their advice to anyone considering Fraternity in Action for Summer 2027 is simple: go with an open heart and mind, be ready to be challenged, and trust that the smallest gestures can leave a lasting impact. As they put it, you may set out thinking you'll make a difference in someone else's life, but the experience is just as likely to change your own.

Photos courtesy of St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy