AN EDUCATOR FOR THE CHILDREN OF TOR BELLA MONACA

Rome, Tor Bella Monaca district. We are in one of the most problematic and complex areas of the capital where the rates of unemployment, illiteracy, school dropout, juvenile detention, organized crime and drug addiction are skyrocketing.

As often happens, it is in the most difficult suburbs where the courage, the passion and the desire to create something different exist. It provides an alternative that represents for the younger inhabitants of this area the opportunity to understand that a better future is possible.

"My home, our home"

Precisely in Tor Bella Monaca since 2003 the voluntary association Vides Mic Mag TBM onlus, the Salesian Sisters Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and the Parish of Saint Mary Mother of the Redeemer have given life to the socio-educational project "My home, our home", a day care center dedicated to the children of the neighborhood with serious social problems.

It is a real home where, according to Don Bosco's educational style, children and young people, divided into two modules and age groups (6-10 years and 11-18 years), stay after school until after dinner. In this context, they carry out recreational, educational and sports activities with the support of specialized educators and passionate volunteers.

They are children often abandoned, who live many hours on the street or in social housing courtyards, in degraded conditions that dramatically affect their current psychological growth and on their future development as adults.

Don Bosco's educational method as a prevention of social unease

For these children and young people, Tor Bella Monaca is the only life they’ve known. Most of them have never left the neighborhood and the day care center of the "My home, our home" project is a place where they can experience an environment filled with love, trust and growth, with the aim of:

• make them feel loved, accepted and supported in a peaceful atmosphere;
• promote awareness of one's being, especially in relation to the management of one's emotions; to be able to establish positive relationships that respect the differences between people;
• develop and strengthen the skills and abilities necessary to finish school, enter the world of work and plan one's life, expanding one's knowledge and experience.

The Foundation, the Salesians and the bond with Sister Anna

One of the Foundation’s pillars is education. Valter Baldaccini believed strongly in education, convinced that this was one of the tools necessary to fight poverty.

He acquired this awareness from his exposure to the Salesian environment which had a huge impact on him: in it he found dialogue and trust, as well as a real family that he joyfully engaged with for a long time.

Sister Anna Mariani was once a resident in Cannara, Valter Baldaccini’s birthplace, and today she is in charge of the Tor Bella Monaca project.

Support for the educator Monica for a year

For one year the Valter Baldaccini Foundation will support the precious work of Monica, one of the project’s two educators.

Monica started attending "Casa mia, casa nostra" in 2017 when she accepted a new challenge with the civil service. An experience that then became a full-time job, today in fact Monica educates the youngest group of children. 

Nine children between 6 and 10 years old spend most of their day with her and the volunteers of the center. Before the pandemic, she was the one who would pick them up from school by bus, have a snack with them, organize afternoon activities such as homework, free play, group activities and sports, and then take them home after dinner.

Today the pandemic has made everything more complicated and most of the activities are individual, but the project "My home, our home" is still a meeting point and fundamental reference for the families of the neighborhood. For these kids "Casa mia, casa nostra" is a real family. 

Erika, one of the children of the project

One of the greatest difficulties for Monica, the educator, has been coming up against the harsh reality that these children must face. This is what happened to her when she met Erika, a child who was attending elementary school at the time and who lives with seven other people in a small two-room apartment in a council house.

Her family is scarred by prison, drug dealing and mental health issues. When they met, Erika was an angry child, with frequent outbursts of anger, and the biggest hurdle for Monica was making her understand that she could trust her. 

Erika in her short life never felt understood and accepted, but the goal of "Casa mia, casa nostra" is just that: to support these children with love and patience. Today Erika is a young teenager who attends the group of older children and Monica is her guide.

A project possible only thanks to you

The young children, boys and girls of Tor Bella Monaca need your support. Please offer them a concrete opportunity for deliverance. 

Donate now to give each of them the chance to have a better future. Thank you very much for your support, every small gesture is a precious resource.