Little Eden launches second book
The late Danny and Domitilla Hyams have an incredible story to tell.
The Little Eden Society recently launched a second book written about the society and its late Founders, Domitilla Rota Hyams and her husband Danny Hyams.
The book was written by Italian journalist and author, Ms Daniela Taiocchi.
The book launch and evening of investment took place at the Italian Club in Bedfordview.
Guests on the night included His Excellency Ambassador Terzi, the former minister of Foreign Affairs in Italy; Dr Gabriele di Muzio the Consul General of Italy in Johannesburg, His Eminence Wilfred Cardinal Napier OFM and Don Giulivo Facchinetti, the parish priest of Domitilla Rota Hyams’ home town Almenno San Bartolomeo.
Whereas the first book, Il Piccolo Paradiso – translated to ‘A Little Paradise’, recounted the back-story of Little Eden’s founding, in Vuoti a rendere – translated to ‘Emptied for Filling’, Taiocchi delves deeper into the anthropological and theological underpinnings of this incredible saga.
The late Danny and Domitilla Hyams have an incredible story to tell.
The story begins when they first met during the World War II, in a village in Italy, and how their lives and faith have resulted in Little Eden in South Africa, which has accepted, in the space of more than 40 years, nearly a thousand children with profound intellectual disabilities.
Domitilla died in January 2011 and Danny died in December 2012.
The author, Ms Daniela Taiocchi, traces the stages of their lives, letting objects and places “speak” and tell a story.
A house, a fireplace, a rosary, bells, a forest, a book, a handkerchief, some flowers, a bridge; which lead to digressions in the areas of sanctity, of beauty, of madness, of prayer and of the war.
Ms Taiocchi’s book offers the reader a glimpse at unexpected beauty and meaning in the broken bodies of Little Eden’s angels.
It also explains why Little Eden, as an organisation, is so passionate about caring for people with intellectual disabilities and the belief that each resident has a purpose in life.
To obtain a copy of Vuoti a Rendere, or for more information, contact Nichollette Muthige or Lucy Slaviero on 011 609-7246. Alternatively, visit www.littleeden.org.za
