"When you are young, overwhelmed and discouraged by the pain of having a disabled child, only an angel can give you the strength to face the days ahead with courage. For us, Nicole was that angel—she helped and guided us with loving devotion to children with disabilities."
Irene and Vincenzo
Over coffee, the Summer Camp took shape
The idea came up, spontaneous and unexpected, during coffee with friends—wives of FAO employees and young mothers—when one of them expressed her despair at having sent her disabled child far from home, to an institution for the disabled in Switzerland. In the 1970s in Rome, there were few solutions for handicapped children, or perhaps none at all, and families had to find their own way to manage the constant care these children needed. Nicole Schulthes, then forty-four, a rehabilitation therapist by training, proposed organizing a summer camp in Rome for handicapped children. The goal was simple: to offer families a brief respite during the long summer months. Together with the women from that café, and others who soon joined them, Nicole organized the first day camp in 1975. Marymount International School made its facilities available, and so began an almost fifty-year tradition of service to Rome's handicapped children, running from the last week of June through the first week of July.The benefits were mutual
What did the children do at day camp? They had fun playing—not only with other handicapped children, but also with the children of the volunteer mothers. Bente, for instance, brought her own children to help run the camp activities (as other mothers did), and she remembers that experience as deeply valuable and enriching for her own sons and daughters. They learned about disability and came to understand the meaning of solidarity and the ability to see beyond a person's physical limitations. Marymount also allowed use of the pool: nothing could be better on those hot, humid Italian summer days than to cool off and dive into the water. There were songs and games (Bente and her children discovered that singing quickly stopped restlessness and repetitive behavior), art, and craft projects. The cookies Nicole baked with the children became something of a legend in the international community.The Bazaar
Where did these resourceful women find the money to fund the Summer Camp? The first year, one woman managed to put together the funds, and in 1976 a group formed that met regularly to make handcrafted goods to sell. The first bazaar at St. Stephen was modest—held in the cold of an old chapel with broken windows and cracked floor tiles. But year after year, the bazaar grew, and the women had the idea of selling ethnic products from around the world—then rare and almost impossible to find in Rome. Soon the whole city descended on the bazaar for Christmas shopping! Bente recalls with nostalgic amusement how they had to manage the crowds by closing the gates while people waited in line just to get in. Amid all the Christmas excitement, the handicapped children were never forgotten: a table displayed products and crafts made during the Summer Camp, and all the guests were invited to buy them or make a donation.Who was Nicole?
Nicole, Bente remembers, lived what she preached: she bought all her Christmas gifts at the bazaar. She was remarkably forthright—she said what she thought, always resolute, but also unfailingly kind. She was genuinely interested in others, full of life and energy. Her commitment to disability likely grew from her personal experience of having a disabled nephew. She would visit families before the Summer Camp to learn their stories, understand their medical needs, and gather other details about their situations. She kept up with the latest approaches to caring for the handicapped and supporting their families, and over time became an irreplaceable resource for new families with children who needed special care. Until the very end, she never complained to friends about her illness or suffering. Instead, she was always keen to hear how others were doing whenever they called to say hello. Nicole's legacy lives on, even though the Summer Camp itself has ended. The situation improved over time, and Rome now offers various solutions for families with handicapped children. The seed that Nicole and her friends planted bore many fruits. One of them is Casa Loic—but that is another story. Nelia Ruiz Cortez, 2007(with thanks to Bente Budtz and Irene Ursic Ruisi)