Efrem Sardella has lived in Monopoli, in the province of Bari, since he was born 45 years ago. Since childhood, he has loved music. His mother, an organist and choir director, introduced him to it early on. Pampered by his beloved aunts, Efrem grew up between home and parish. He is a man of prayer (a ministrant with flair!) and action. For Shadows and Lights, he has written short memoirs about his many attempts to fit in. He hopes the account of his successes and failures will serve others.
After “honorably” attending elementary and middle school, I earned my much-desired license. But after that, what to do? I would have liked to continue schooling but in my time there were not many opportunities to continue it. My only occupation was being a ministrant in the parish and then, once a month, meeting with the friends of Faith and Light. My pastor, Don Armando, thought of forming the “Shalom” cooperative whose members were also people (as they say now) with disabilities: we collaborated with Ceramica delle Puglie by making cups, saucers, plates, attaching labels, decorations and more. My job was to stamp the cartons that contained the product of our work. I remember very fondly the colleagues-Mariuccia, Sabrina, Onofrio, Enzo, and especially Piero and Silvio who were the bosses and distributed the wages. Unfortunately, however, I also remember the quarrels that sometimes happened between the colleagues, which I could not stand. And so once, tired of hearing them, I left because I was desperate, and then Piero came looking for me. Every now and then I would do some damage: I would put the cups on the conveyor belt and sometimes they would fall and break and Piero would scold me. But even though I never quarreled with anyone, after 10 years Ceramica delle Puglie moved and we were out of work. Now what do I do!!! I asked myself.
– Read also: I Feel Grown-Up
I’m unemployed… Actually, I’ve never been without doing anything: I took a ceramics course at the Art Institute, also learning to knead clay and decorate terracotta pots. But this experience, too, came to an end after a while… Then the Technical Commercial Institute, in 2007, organized an “Ecological Caring” among the activities to support the disadvantaged; all good experiences: new tutors, new psychologists, new activities and new friends that I remember with nostalgia, especially because this experience, too, came to an end after one school year. So the days began again when all I had to do was listen to music, especially my favorite music which is choirs, mountain choirs, church choirs. I dreamed of having a choir of my own, and being the Master Director and conducting… conducting… and feeling like an important person.
Contact with AIPD
Listening to music and imagining directing a choir of my own is not my only endeavor: I make myself useful around the house, if my mother needs some chores such as setting the table, hanging out the laundry, doing some small shopping at the supermarket or dairy (although I have to be honest, counting money is not my forte, luckily the vendors are honest and so I can trust them!). My mother is worried and thinking of some other solution for this job problem of mine: it is true that I continue to be a minister in the parish, but it is essential to find real employment. Searching, we were struck by the goals of the AIPD (Italian Association of People with Down Syndrome), which said: Job placement of people with disabilities. We got in touch and I regularly attended the association based in Bari: I was very happy to meet new friends and new tutors, the organization seemed very serious. My tutor was Salvatore, who for a while came from Bari to Monopoli to make me more independent and made me realize that I am a Down boy. Who knows why, until this moment I had not noticed this little difference… I have to say that it was a little difficult and a little hard to accept; but (thanks to the water from Lourdes) I passed even this test, even if I had to drink a lot of water!
When we completed the first Living In magazine, I took it home as if I had won a race and been given the cup
The meetings to make me more autonomous worked: while at first my parents had to drive me to Bari and stay to wait for the end of our meeting in the association, after a while I was able to take the train from Monopoli station to Bari by myself! I would mark in pencil on a piece of paper all the stations from Monopoli to Bari and as the train went by I would erase them so that I would not make a mistake and get off at the right one. I would go to Bari by train to meet friends once a week in the afternoon, but in the evening my parents would come to pick me up because it was a little late.
And after autonomy, the internships
One day my AIPD mentors made me a proposal: a training internship at the State Archives with duties in computer data storage (this time I really felt important!). From September 2012 to June 2013 I would get up in the morning to take the train to Bari. From the central station I would take the bus to the State Archives, I had to be careful and get off at the right stop: I never made a mistake either taking the train or the bus (my Guardian Angel was watching over me!). At the Archives I would meet Daniela and Scarlett, two really special people who guided me through my work. Having a good knowledge of the Word program, my duties were to archive old documents and enter them into the computer. It was a bit of a difficult job at first because it required a lot of attention, but after 10 months do you want to know how many names I had entered? More than 5,000! The file included: name, paternity, date and place of birth, residence, political color, profession, etc. etc. After 10 months the managers of the State Archives gave me a great gift: they printed my work and presented it at a conference attended by many important people. It was a very demanding job, but one that I remember with great nostalgia.
Efrem at work
A second internship I did at the Bari Museum Pole: again my duties were archiving ancient documents, scanning and entering them into the computer.
The internship lasted 3 months (from October 2016 to January 2017).And so I began again to travel every morning from Monday to Friday: the train was always the same but the route from the station to the Museum Pole was different because you had to take bus No. 20, obliterate the ticket, pay attention to the route; when I saw the Castle it meant that I was about to arrive, so I booked the stop and then got off.From the stop at Largo Santa Chiara, I would walk to the Museum Complex. My shift would start at 9:30 a.m. and end at 12:30 p.m. Then I would make my way back to the station and catch the train again. I must say that it was not all easy, it was very challenging at times but I finally felt useful; my colleagues also say they missed me.I wonder why these experiences last for such a short time!
In the print shop, work is cracking up!
After work at the Museum Pole, I start spending the morning again without a serious commitment. It’s true I do housework, help my mother, if there’s really nothing to do there’s always “my” choir waiting for me. But it is not the same as feeling useful to others.The days pass in anticipation of the commitment of being a ministress in the parish, the monthly meeting with Faith and Light, and then there is the anticipation of those vacation days when we will be together with the friends of Faith and Light, a few days but intense: so many good memories!
For a short time, my current pastor, the manager of diocesan Caritas, asked me for help: again I had to transcribe on the computer some handwritten documents on the parish books. But this initiative, too, soon ended. The year 2020 finally (not thinking about Covid) brought me another big, unexpected surprise: a manager of the Vivere In Publishing House in Monopoli asked me, “Would you like to come and work at our printing house? You are needed!” It is really true that the ways of the Lord are endless. My father goes to the countryside every morning, so he accompanies me and then picks me up for lunch.I am so happy! The colleagues (Sante, Gianni, Marco, Dario and Antonio) welcome me with open arms. This time it is a different job: we have to print and layout magazines, books, even volumes about the Vatican. When we completed the first Vivere In magazine, they gave me a copy and I took it home as if I had won a race and they gave me the cup. When I come back, my mother asks me, “Are you okay? Did you do well? “And I answer, “Uuuuh, I worked my ass off,” so everyone laughs-but why!
