Stories

“The Unremarkable Encounter” from L’Arche Honduras

Posted 2018-12-07

Have you seen the remarkable story of Santos and Pipe? Check out the 3-part series that tells the story of their lives and the unremarkable encounters that lead them to where they now are.

“The Unremarkable Encounter” is the season finale of L’Arche International’s web series #AsIAm! This episode takes the form of a 3-part docu-telenovela where we follow the lives of Santos and Pipe, and the people they meet along the way. The plot has twists and turns, but at its core, “The Unremarkable Encounter” is a simple story about unexpected commonalities and the long-lasting friendships forged in L’Arche.

When Santos was born, doctors described him as hemiplegic, epileptic, and intellectually disabled. By the age of 9, Santos described himself as a cowboy, magician, and innovative fisherman. If you can relate to wanting to write your own story, and wanting to not be labelled by others, check out the first chapter of a very long and unremarkable journey.

Chapter 1: https://youtu.be/Qv19_Qd0C_U

39% of the world’s homeless population has a disability. When Pipe was sleeping under a school bus, he was a part of that sobering statistic, but that’s not even close to his whole story. In Chapter 2 of our docu-telenovela, Pipe’s fate is about to change because of an encounter with a stranger.

Chapter 2: https://youtu.be/hSVL7Q3WgxM

There are 11 million undocumented migrants in the US. One of those 11 million has a daughter named Yanila who lives around the corner from Santos. In the final instalment of this docu-telenovela, unremarkable encounters lead to remarkable changes in the lives of the protagonists.

Chapter 3: https://youtu.be/SsJFuhJ7eeM

You can find the whole collection of #AsIAm videos on the L’Arche International website. A Viewing Guide offers behind-the-scenes information and discussion questions to help you explore the themes of the #AsIAm films – ideal for use in classrooms and small gatherings (religious groups, film clubs, etc.)

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Joe Clayton: Art, faith, and community allowed me to heal

Joe Clayton shared his powerful life story at a recent symposium, Flying to Freedom: The Journey from Institutionalization in Ontario and at L’Arche Toronto’s Listen to My Story. This article is reprinted with permission from Community Living Ontario.

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