We're in Sri Lanka,
a wonderful and far too unknown country.
It's exotic and fascinating... just like us.
So let me introduce us.
This is Ludovico,
you will always find him with camera in hand and polo shirts in different colours.
This is me, the most good-looking, by the way.
This is Daniel, who's auditioning for Big Brother.
And finally we have Stefano, who's just learned how to use a camera.
We're a team of filmmakers, photographers, influencers and travelers.
Telling stories about our trips is our job,
and this time we've decided to do it in a special way.
Just take a look at us: we know exactly what we're doing.
The goal of this mission is to donate a school bus to the village of Ibbawala,
a village managed by 'Lo Specchio dei Tempi' foundation, of the newspaper "La Stampa"
which is home to young women who have been victims of domestic abuse.
Each morning, the girls have to cover long distances by foot,
or in a tuk-tuk, to reach the school.
During this trip, we'll be gathering the funds needed
to donate our bright yellow vehicle, which we call the Mini Magic Bus,
to the girls of the village.
In the meantime, we’ll be touring Sri Lanka
to see what the country has to offer.
It's going to be an incredible journey across this green, lush land, where...
it always rains,
especially during monsoon season.
And when did we decide to go?
Well... during monsoon season.
By talking to the locals,
we found out it hadn't rained
like this in over three years.
Hey, that's just our luck!
However, this is actually good news, as the country is often affected by droughts.
And don't worry about us, we'll be fine too.
For two reasons: first of all, it shouldn't last long.
And second: we know exactly what to do in these types of emergencies.
- Does he know what he's doing?
- What’s going...?
- I have no idea what he's up to.
(Laughs)
- No! Try them first!
- Let's try?
(Yelling and laughing)
- Well, almost!
- Fixing it. It's going to be a mess...
- No, no wait! (Laughs)
(Stefano) - I had the same problem with the Lancia Ypsilon!
(Laughing) (Stefano) - No, really!
- I swear, you have to pull it! Pull it! Pull it!
- Try! Yes, yes, try it! - Try! Try!
(Laughing)
(Daniel) - I knew we had to take MacGyver with us.
- Excuse me, let’s do it like this... manual.
(Laughs)
- Go! (Laughs)
- Come on, let's go.
The best thing about an adventurous trip is that things always work out.
Badly, but they work out.
- We're soaked... we've just spent 20 minutes figuring out how it worked.
- We decided to go anyways... staying in the middle of the road is more far dangerous than
- not having windscreen wipers, so...
- we chose the lesser of two evils.
(Ludo) - I’ll tell you if it's the lesser evil or not in 15 minutes.
Our trip can begin. First stop? Sigiriya.
Sigirya is the most important archaeological site in Sri Lanka,
and is home to the ruins of an ancient royal palace, built around 500 d.C.
Predictably, it's a World Heritage site,
and a great attraction for tourists... lots of tourists.
This massive rock with legendary origins is found deep within these vast green plains.
The landscape is incredible,
and getting to the top is incredibly difficult.
But it seems Sri Lankan weather forecasts can be trusted,
and soon it stops raining.
We can now hit the road again, crossing the country
along its winding roads and rich vegetation.
Our fearless driver, Cécile, has our blind trust.
- Every bump, every curve, everything, puts our lives in danger.
(Ludo) - Put your seatbelt on! - What seatbelt? (Laughter)
To kill some time on the road, we check all the footage filmed by the team,
while Stefano has decided he prefers using his phone instead of a professional camera.
(Daniel) - We've just been stopped by the police...
- but as usual,
- Ludovico saved the day with a good old handshake... what a gentleman.
(Laughs)
- Okay, we’re good... no need to call the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- Thank you Cécile... thank you.
After narrowly escaping an arrest, we can proceed to a town in the north of the country,
Jaffna.
Until recently, Jaffna was torn by a bloody civil war that scarred the nation.
The conflict, which lasted 25 years, saw the country's government clash
with the Tigri Tamil organization, leading to the death of 100,000 people.
The conflict has just ended, and what's left is a surreal atmosphere.
We seem to be the only ones crossing town.
Before taking the ferry to the other side of the island,
we decide to stop to take a walk.
Soon, a local family invites us over.
- They are curious about us.
- they look at us and put their hands in front of their face...
- they're shy and embarrassed.
- Look!
- Like a top model! (Laughing)
- I asked for her name,
- but she doesn't speak a word of English, so we used a translator.
- We translated from Tamil to Italian,
- This is her name.
- Manor... Rani! - Rani!
- Ok!
We try to communicate any way we can, but sometimes a gesture or a smile are enough.
(Daniel) - Beautiful
- This place is amazing, I'd like to talk to them but I have to use the translator for everything.
- True... but it’s cool.
(Daniel) - Let's look up how to say 'beautiful house'.
Daniel learns how to write his own name in the sand, too.
- Dani! (Daniel) - Dani!
- Dani! Dani! (Daniel) - Dani! Good... you?
We give them our usual present: a Polaroid picture.
- From the Magic Bus... to you.
(Laugh)
(Ludo) - It's ok? Do you like it?
Travelling is an exchange.
For us, it may seem like nothing special,
but here, being able to see yourself in a picture, almost feels like a miracle.
(Ludo) - No? - Can I film?
- Maybe... in these areas you only hang pictures of the dead?
- Have you ever thought about it? No!
- We gave out... pictures all around the world, but maybe they hang pictures of the dead.
(Laughing) - Ah well... who knows.
Then they invite us in their house, empty and spartan,
but at the same time a safe haven and a place to call their own.
- Ah well... it's not a problem
- My house is much messier, don’t worry.
(Laughs)
- She asked if we wanted to eat here.
- They've invited us to dinner? - She saw how healthy I am!
- Why? What’s going on, I don't understand.
- Earlier, she asked if we wanted to eat.
- Thank you, ma'am, thank you for...
- Thank you for the invitation... we have a ferry.
- We won't miss out next time
- All right, yes! Thanks anyway.
(Laughing) - Ok!
- Bye ma'am, goodbye! - Bye bye!
Even after a troubled past, life goes on.
Though we can see a touch of melancholy in their eyes,
nothing can erase the smiles from their faces.
It's immersed in these thoughts, on board our Magic Bus,
that we decide to stop, look at the view, and take some pictures.
Oh, and the ferry.
Yeah we ended up losing the ferry, if that's what you can call this thing.
I blame all these influencers.
But that's not a big deal, 'cause we got to enjoy the sunset, and that was enough.
Here in Sri Lanka, it's impossible not to visit a few temples.
This is a country of many religions.
There are Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians.
In Jaffna and the north in general, the predominant religion is Hinduism.
This is Nallur Kandaswamy,
the largest Hindu temple in the country.
It's a majestic structure, where pilgrims and followers
go to pray as well as break coconuts on tree trunks.
It's forbidden to take pictures or record videos in the temple.
So we can only film outside.
To travel is to be curious and to discover,
while having respect for local traditions.
Well, also the fines here are pretty hefty.
- Eh... guys, where did Cécile park?
- Ah ok... found him! It's all right, we can go!
(Stefano) - This is actually a special moment in our trip because...
- Gabriele has just made peace with Cécile.
- They had a bit of a fight yesterday because he knew one way,
- and Gabriele knew another.
- The thing is, Gabriele... doesn't know anything about Sri Lanka.
(Laughs)
- While Cécile was born and raised here.
(Laughs)
- And Gabriele got mad because... 'we had to turn that way!'
- In the end Cécile was right... and Gabriele had to keep quiet.
(Gabriele) - We were both right.
- Cécile no longer wanted to speak to him.
Now we've taken care of this rather serious dispute,
we continue our journey, reaching Dambulla.
While the north of the country is mainly Hindu,
the other 70% of the population is Buddhist.
And look here, another temple!
The main feature of the golden temple of Dambulla is a large statue of Buddha,
entirely made out of gold.
At the top of the mountain are several caves.
The thing is: no one had told us how high the mountain actually was.
(Gabri) - Our day begins with 50°C, 90% humidity and 300 steps.
- Why is holiness so difficult to achieve?
(Daniel) - Guys, I’m sweating from my knees... from the meniscus, how?
- My bones are sweating! Call someone right now! Oh my God!
After walking up a lot of stairs and sweating in a lot of clothes,
we finally get to the top.
Legend has it these caves were turned into a temple
by a man named Valagambahu,
a king who was exiled by Anuradhapura.
And what is Anuradhapura? We’ll explain it to you.
It's one of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka.
The old centre is surrounded by massive monasteries,
scattered in an area of over 15 square miles.
The temples date back thousands of years, as do the generations of monks.
In addition to monks, you can also see many people praying,
cleaning the temples to keep them tidy,
and monkeys annoying the people who are praying.
Fortunately, Sri Lankans have their own way of dealing with these monkeys.
(Stefano) - To reassure all animal lovers,
- including us, the monkeys here aren't hunted down and killed.
- They're only driven away, so as to not bother the people praying,
- and so as not to ruin...
(Ludo) - Dirty the ground
- and above all, dirty the ground, yes.
- You see, if Ludo weren't here, this video would be really ignorant
(Ludo) - Just ignorant.
- Oh... Ouch!
- What...
- No!
- Will you hold this for me Dani? - Of course!
In Sri Lanka, a law that states that all newly registered vehicles
must be checked before being driven for a thousand kilometres.
So, while we’re in town, we take the chance to leave the bus at a mechanic.
The bus is fine anyway... well, except for the windscreen wipers and the seat belts.
And while our school bus is in good hands, we head off to get something to eat.
There's just one obstacle: getting to the restaurant.
In Sri Lanka, public transport is... interesting.
- We thought we'd found a restaurant, but we hadn't.
- We didn’t like it.
- We've found another very nice one, and we’re trying to figure out if...
- these tuk tuk drivers know where it is, and if they can take us.
- It's the only restaurant in town, and they don’t know where it is.
- When they tell you to come... I mean, you ask for information,
- they always know where to go, even if they really don't,
- and so what they do is, they call each other,
- to ask where the place is,
- but they don’t even want to look at the map.
- So we're on the road and... that's a start. (Daniel) - It's a start.
- Now let’s see if... if he knows where to take us.
- We’re at someone’s house.
- We chose a random restaurant, but we’re ruining the...
- People come here to be quiet and relax,
- and there are seven of us.
- To drink we have: Sprite, Coke, Fanta, water.
- No beer? - Beer?
Above all, traveling means trying all the local food,
meat, rice, spices.
Everything that's put on the table, can be either harmful or delicious.
- Take it, I mean, taste it, see if it makes you... (Stefano) - But I don’t want to be sick.
- If you get sick, at least... you're the only one. (Stefano) - No, let's share it.
- Get it! (Stefano) - Alright, I'll get it alone.
- No one really knows what they got to eat, but we're all eating...
- The tray is the worst part.
It's great 'cause, in most cases,
we don’t know the names of things or what’s inside.
- The Veghetable roti! (Stefano) - Thank you!
- Veghetable... vegetable with GH.
- So this is the roti, or a burrito, all twisted
up with chicken and... vegetables inside it.
- This is Kottu roti... (Daniel) - That's the last name... first name is Franco.
(Stefano) - Roti... it's all Kottu roti...
- Here you have both... you can show them here.
- Kottu... no: Roti and Kottu.
- It's wrong, because this is broken and this is cooked.
(Laughs)
(Stefano) - Guys, this is delicious!
(Ludo) - Could you just eat instead of taking selfies?
When you're traveling on the road, and you're far from home,
tired and hungry, and you don't want to eat any more rice and boiled vegetables,
nothing's better than some chicken, french fries, Coke,
and... lots of burgers.
(Ludo) - Finally some chicken.
- I bet they don't have burgers now.
- No more chicken burgers, I bet.
- Please... please!
- Do you want cheese?
(Stefano) - After days of eating noodles...
- Rice, rice and noodles...
- We really needed this.
Happy and well fed, we get back on the bus and head towards Ibbawala.
But before we get there, we need to take a short detour.
- Five years ago, I travelled across Sri Lanka.
- A family asked me to take a picture... this is it.
- They asked me to send it to their address,
the man wrote it down for me... here it is.
- Ramakrishnan, who lives in Dickoya.
- Time went by and I never ended up sending it to him.
- I also hoped to take it to him in person one day,
- and I believe this is the perfect time to do that.
- Let's see if we can give him a nice surprise.
- We come back in one hour? - An hour... come back.
- But we stay here?
(Ludo) - We give you the picture now?
- Iphone, yes. - Iphone?
(Ludo) - Email? Yes. - Email.
- My email? (Ludo) - Yes.
(Gabri) - Two pictures, okay.
- An hour? (Gabri) - One hour.
(Ludo) - One hour, they're ready? - Come back.
(Gabri) - Ok! - Sure.
(Gabri) - Be back here in an hour?
(Ludo) - I think he said... - No!
- If you give it to him now, it'll be ready in an hour.
- He did like this...
(Ludo) - He did like that to me too.
(Gabri) - Do you know this place?
- 95 kilometres?
- Ok!
- Thank you!
- Wow!
- They're going to be happy.
- Okay, Istouti (Thank you)!
- Okay, very good job.
- You managed? - You did it?
(Gabriele) - You won't believe it, it’s amazing...
Let me see!
(Gabriele) - ...unbelievable! - Noo!
- It's so cool! - Beautiful.
- It's amazing! - Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
- This is a wonderful thing.
(Gabriele) - The picture isn't great, but the story is.
- It's beautiful! (Gabri) - Let’s head to the mountains!
After all marveling at a framed photograph,
we can begin this mission within the mission.
We're ready to cross the mountainous roads,
in search of Ramakrishnan, a gentleman I met five years ago,
on a train in the middle of Sri Lanka.
The only clue we have is a piece of paper with his name written on it,
and a vague idea of where he might be.
All we can do now is hope he hasn't moved.
But isn't that what makes every trip special? The unexpected, the unplanned.
- The roads are shrinking more and more.
- It’s like the roads back home.
- We're coming through in our bus.
- We're on our way, Ramakrishnan.
See, this is what I was talking about.
Whose idea was it to drive a school bus
across narrow mountainous roads?
- Wait.
- Ah, and now what?
- Do you have the map? Where's the map?
- Show me the map? Who has it?
- Let's see if we can understand... We're somewhere here.
- And the guy lives in... Hatton, here.
- In Dickoya - In Dickoya
- A truck is passing?
- We’re not going to pass through now.
(Stefano) - We're not going to fit.
- Well... what do we do now?
(Laughs)
- I'd take a train... if we get stuck here, we'll be stuck for the rest of our lives.
- Let’s see if there’s a station.
- The train covers 6 miles in 30 minutes. (Ludo) - In an hour it cover 12 miles.
- Its speed is 12 miles an hour.
- 12 miles an hour... sorry, 6 miles... hypotenuse of 65.
- After repeating our calculations, we figured it does 12 miles an hour because...
- if it does 6 in half an hour, in an hour it does 12.
- We are getting closer and closer... hello!
Crossing Sri Lanka requires patience,
and this train is the best way to understand this.
It's slow, broken, clumsy and dangerous.
It's a place where you can never find a place to sit down.
Just like the trains back home, in Italy. Except, here the trains are on time.
We cross lush tea plantations,
we lean out the window,
we meet the locals and chat with them,
we lean out the window, and sing and look at the landscape
whilst leaning out the window again.
It's a good excuse to stop for a minute,
to reflect on things, to plan the route,
to rest and admire our surroundings.
Oh, and I did I mention leaning out the window?
- Is this Ella? Ella?
- No, we passed Ella. - You passed Ella?
- Yeah... (Gabri) - Noo!
- We're coming from Ella... This train comes from Ella.
- Are you sure? - Yeah.
- Is it going to Haputale?
- Bye, ciao!
- Guys!
- Want to know something hilarious? We're heading in the wrong direction.
- No! - I swear to God.
(Laughing) - Oh yes..
- Where are we going, India? - I don’t know.
- We are going south, but we need to go north. - No!
- Let's get off? - There's no train in the other direction...
- This is a station, either way.
- How does one get on the wrong train?
(Laughs)
- I mean... come on!
- I bought tickets for Hatton.
- And we’re going to... - Haputale
- But...
- We're going to Haputale... - This trip is a disaster!
- We're going to Haputale, I swear! This
isn't the direction we were supposed to take.
(Ludo) - So we’re going to... - Haputale.
(Laughs)
(Ludo) - Haputale...
- I mean, really...
- It's beautiful, but it was totally wrong,
- Uh... let’s head back.
So after being seen as a bunch of idiots by the station master,
we can head back in the right direction, towards the village of Ramakrishnan.
I guess it's a good excuse to enjoy another train ride,
and what a train ride it is!
And remember, you must always be leaning out the window.
- This is how you get off here... when you feel like it, you just get off.
- Okay, we just got off the train,
- we can continue the mission by foot.
- Let’s find out where this man lives.
Now that we're here, how hard can it be to
find a tiny village hidden in the mountains,
where a guy I met five years ago might still be living?
We've already asked everyone for directions.
What more can this guy tell us?
- Your grandfather? - Yes, yes.
It's this?
- Where is he?
- Where? Inside?
- Just like that, on the road... really?
- It's his grandfather!
- He's your grandfather? Yes!
- They have the same face.
- A rooster... typical sound of a village.
- This village is nice,
- compared to the mess up there.
- It's peaceful here.
- We wouldn't have found a place like this even if we'd looked for it.
Soon we find ourselves surrounded. It's almost a festive occasion.
- There’s his wife... Ahh!
- Good morning, ma'am, how are you?
- Finally, it's been a while!
We meet the relatives, the wife, the brother and the little one in the picture.
- Saipraveen? Is that him?
- Is it him? Saipraveen, hi!
- Who is this?
- Is that you?
- It is you! - Thank you!
- The other one! Ahh, the right hand!
- Mission accomplished!
(Gabri) - We did it. - The only one missing is the main subject!
- We found the child at least.
- The others are joining us.
- Hello.
The guest of honor is the only one missing.
But after someone goes to find him, here he comes.
- It's him! I recognize him, I recognize him!
- I came back from Italy.
- You wrote me this!
- I'm speechless.
- Guys, I’ve never seen Gabriele like this. - I’m getting a little emotional.
- Look at his face, he remembered.
You don't need words to describe these feelings.
All you need is to see the face of a man who never
expected to receive this gift.
He hugs us and kisses us... his joy spreads and we all get a bit emotional.
To celebrate, he invites us to his house.
We jump on the bed and hang the picture on the wall,
so as to never forget this moment.
He keeps hugging us and would probably never stop.
- Who knows how long he's waited...
- if he even was waiting at all.
(Laughs)
- Did you get emotional too?
- I was... as soon as I saw his face, I became speechless.
Today is a day for celebration in the village.
We must raise a glass, even when we have little to toast with,
like a small sweet and a glass of Coke.
It's more than enough to thank us.
Though in truth, it's us who should be thanking them.
When traveling, we often try to take, rather than think of giving.
But when something like this happens,
when you see a misty-eyed man you simply gave a picture to,
you realize how little we consider the simplest of things,
the ones that make us the happiest.
Getting your shots in focus becomes an even greater challenge,
as you can never get distracted, and everything is unique,
it's all a one-time take.
It's time for another group picture,
this time with a Polaroid, so we can hand it over right away.
We don't have want to wait five years to give this one back too.
- Here comes another group photo.
- But I'm not coming back in four years this time...
- I'll just send it on Whatsapp.
- Next time he should come to Italy!
Although we have to leave and deliver the bus,
the old man takes our hands and holds us close.
He doesn't seem to want to let us go.
But Ibbawala awaits, and we have to get going.
We won't be forgetting Ramakrishnan any time soon.
Back on the bus, we stop to think for a moment.
But we don’t know what to think, or what to say.
We reflect on things so intensely that we fall asleep.
- Rest, it was a very long journey.
- There is only one problem. - No, come on.
- The hell is that? What is this thing?
- No... it’s enormous!
- Well, this isn’t...
(Laughs)
- What is it?
- Ah I hit it... so, we have a giant problem.
- It's been a week... It’s all in my eyes.
- We've been in Sri Lanka for a week, and we haven't slept at all
- because hotels here don't have mosquito nets... and since it's quite damp, it's full of mosquitoes,
- due to the rain, too.
- So tonight... it's war.
- There’s a dead one here.
- I think... look what’s over here!
- Behind! Behind! Behind! - Look at it go!
- Hey, a spark!
- Do you have a lighter?
- Thank you!
- Ah, thank you!
- Does it work or...?
- Maybe it’s finished.
- Move out, rookie!
- Let’s try this method...
(Laughs)
After defeating all the mosquitoes in the hotel,
we leave the mountains and head towards the sea.
These splendid beaches have witnessed
one of the most catastrophic natural disasters of this day and age.
The tsunami that hit the Indian Ocean in 2004
was caused by an 8-minute earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1.
The strong tidal waves wiped out entire cities in southeast Asia.
Here in Galle, we meet Angelo Conti,
a journalist and the vice-president of the 'Specchio dei Tempi' foundation.
Angelo was one of the first people to get here after the tsunami,
to help out the local fishermen.
- In 2004, on the day of the tsunami,
- the 26th of December, this area of Sri Lanka has hit.
- The directors of newspaper La Stampa put money into the 'Specchio dei Tempi' foundation,
- asking for an immediate intervention in this part of the world.
- Two days later, 'Specchio dei Tempi' began to set everything in motion,
- and I came here to Sri Lanka, together with friends of the GUS in Macerata,
- who then stayed here to work for the following months.
- During this first trip to Sri Lanka,
- the first of many, we decided what needed to be done.
- The first thing we did was purchase hundreds of fishing boats,
- and donated them to the fishermen, so they could go on making a living,
- after having lost their own boats to the gigantic wave.
- One hundred fishermen families were thus able to go back to
- leading a normal life only weeks after the tragic event.
The tsunami took the lives of over 230,000 people.
The locals explain to us it was lack of communication
is to blame for the great number of deaths.
If people had been warned in time, via radio and TV broadcasts,
they would have had time to move further inland, and avoid the deadly tidal wave.
Life is fragile, much more than we can imagine,
but it's also tenacious, and never stops fighting.
Although it only took eight minutes to wreak all this havoc and cause so many deaths,
it only took a few years for life to flourish stronger than before.
We fight, struggle, and start working and smiling again, despite our fragility.
- After donating the boats, we focused on structural measures, and rebuilt three schools,
- here in Sri Lanka. But the largest measure was this,
- the Medical Center, initially the Ibbawala Medical Center,
- which then became the Children's Village.
- This structure was used as a hospital,
- people who'd been injured due to the tsunami were taken care of here.
- Three years later, the majority of these people healed,
- and the village became obsolete, it was no longer needed for medical reasons.
- So the government of Sri Lanka asked us if we could use these houses
- as homes for girls who had been rescued from domestic abuse at home,
- which in most cases means sexual assault,
- but which can also mean they've been simply abandoned.
- The first girls were welcomed in 2009.
- And today... today we have about 25 of them,
- plus a few who come and go, who are taking classes
- for integration, or re-integration, in families.
(Daniel) - So hopefully this cycle will end,
- as the girls will get older and find work,
- so this village will have fulfilled its purpose...
(Angelo) - Well, each year a few girls leave,
and some girls arrive, because unfortunately...
Hopefully no more girls will need the village.
- Yes, however this year four new girls came in,
- and three left, so the balance is still positive.
- So the structure is needed, because unfortunately, in Sri Lanka,
- perhaps due to harmful traditions, that unfortunately exist,
- domestic abuses are relatively frequent.
- Therefore... the frequency of these abuses calls for the need of an oasis,
- where these girls can be sheltered.
- The fact that the village, as you will see tomorrow, is in a very rural area,
- is good, as it keeps them away from those trying to reach them again.
- Tomorrow you'll see that a part of the fence has been brought down.
- This is not due to the rain, but to people trying to get in.
- Of course, we have security.
- But the girls still have fathers or brothers,
- who've abused them,
- and may want to come to the village and take them back.
- Here everything works well, but justice...
- is sometimes done differently, a sort of do-it-yourself justice.
- That's why we must be firm, in order to guarantee absolute safety for these girls.
- They damaged our fence and everything,
- but just to be clear, no child has ever been kidnapped.
- However these risks exist, and we have to be careful.
- The girls go to school in the morning... in the afternoon there are workshops,
- where they learn computer science, they learn to speak English, they learn to draw.
- With the help of Italian volunteers of the civil service,
- they have workshops, even after school.
- They are helped in school, and are also given a general knowledge
- of what life is like in the West... a life which is different from theirs.
- But also a life which is different from the one they will likely be living,
- because girls here get married at a very young age, at 18 many of them are already married.
- At the age of 20, many already have kids, perhaps more than one.
- These women are physically exploited, and this is visible.
- A Sri Lankan woman of about 40 may look like she's 60... unfortunately that's how it is.
- It's a way of life that exasperates these women,
- So showing them the western way of life,
- a culture that can show them there's also another way of living,
- another way of being a woman... is important to us.
- That's why we're pleased to work with volunteers of the civil service.
Now that we're finally close to Ibbawala,
we’re ready to deliver the Mini Magic Bus.
But before delivering the bus to the girls,
and seeing as we traveled for almost a thousand miles across mountains,
rough roads and Sri Lankan traffic, there is something we need to do.
While we’re at it, we wash ourselves too.
Traveling also means giving up the convenience and comfort of your home,
and this includes your smell.
Now that we're clean and that don't have that smell we were starting to get used to,
we can enjoy one of the last amazing sunsets of the trip.
- Take a good look at the faces of people who've woken up at 6 in the morning.
- Look at them.
- Good morning Cècile.
- Cècil is transparent in the early morning.
- He has this nasty habit.
- Cècile, how are you?
- Good? Slept well?
In the past 20 days, the Mini Magic Bus has been our home,
it became a companion, and a friend,
but now it’s time to leave it behind.
So, as often happens at the end of a journey,
you have to say goodbye to the friends you met on the way.
We slowly head towards Ibbawala,
crossing forests, dirt roads and streets, lost and far from everything else.
The bus isn't just a nice gift,
but also a vital new part of the everyday life of these girls.
Once we get to the village, we get to know the girls, who are a little embarrassed,
but also happy and curious about our presence.
- Wake up!
- Where is everyone? - Here they get up at 4.30am.
- I don't even have the pleasure of disturbing them in the morning!
- It’s 6am and they've been awake for two hours already... I don’t...
- Come on, it’s late, let’s go to school!
- Can I come in? Excuse me.
- Where are you hiding? Off to school, come on!
- To school... let's go to school! Let's go to school, come on.
The time has come to show them our gift.
With a shy joy in their eyes they get on the bus, and don't yet know how to react.
- Teacher, can I get on? - No!
- What year are you... you guys were sent back a year!
- I'm stuck in the third grade!
Their smiles are the only thing we need.
We have no idea what these girls may have been through,
what they've had to suffer at such a young age.
Their shyness turns into interest,
in wanting to speak to us,
in starting to understand, with a smile, that this bright yellow bus is all theirs.
And now, after an unnecessarily tough part of their life,
at least going to school will be much, much easier.
- Oh how nice, finally some good company!
- After a thousand miles!
- Excuse me Gabri, she stole my sunglasses!
- Look at her!
- Whose are they? Who's that?
- Whose are they?
We follow them to class.
Going back to learn something is always a good idea, especially for us,
as at 8 o'clock in the morning, we couldn't even spell.
- Why is it that, every country we visit, we end up having to go to school?
- This time we've even got exams!
- How are you doing?
- Ahh look... ah no, This one is 'Active Voice'... English!
- Very good, very good!
- I think this present might be
- the most beautiful ever to be conceived in the history of mankind.
- Well, what do you think?
- Beautiful! It's really nice.
- It’s so cool, guys!
- Incredible!
- The music also just started!
- Now we only have to find a big enough Christmas tree,
- to put above it.
- Modern art!
- This is Cècile’s son.
- Hi, how are you?
- Ok?
- These are the final moments of the Mini Magic Bus,
- and the next stop is ours.
- Thank you driver!
Our journey is over, the gift has been wrapped,
and soon it won’t just be a gift anymore.
Goodbye Mini Magic Bus, from now on you'll have an even greater purpose.
From tomorrow, it won't be us riding the bus anymore, but the Ibbawala girls.
And thanks to 'Specchio dei Tempi' and to all does who've made a donation,
they finally have a bus to get to school with.
(Laughs)
We've covered almost a thousand miles,
crossing Sri Lanka from North to South, from the coast to the mountains.
We've driven on some impossibly tough roads, faced the heavy rain,
admired some amazing and rich landscapes.
We missed a ferry, met a family and gave them a picture.
We took one of the most beautiful train rides in the world...
in the wrong direction.
We journeyed to the mountains to give a man a present the good old fashioned way,
and were welcomed in his home to celebrate.
All we did were simple gestures,
and, sometimes, the simplest gestures can make the difference.
In this trip, the best experiences were about giving to people,
which really made us think.
It's important to make a difference when you can,
even if it means putting up with these guys.
There’s no need for a reward or a headline
seeing someone smile for the joy you've brought to them is enough.
And yeah we didn't shower for three weeks, but I still figure it was worth it.