March 25, 2023

 

Humanitarian work moves forward with many good people giving their best efforts to assist refugees in their needs.  An organization called Diaconia Valdese in Ventimiglia, Italy (located on the Ligurian Sea near the French border) helps refugees with basic needs for those continuing to other countries (about 90%), and with housing, legal assistance, and other needs for those who desire to stay (about 10%).  Most of the men who are seeking help live under a bridge.  The Church helps provide jackets, shoes, socks, blankets, sleeping bags, hygiene kits, and other essentials, which are very much appreciated.  It is always a life-changing experience to visit with refugees under the bridge and to hear their stories.  It was heart warming to visit with some of them as they received shoes, backpacks, etc.

Refugees from Africa (mostly Sudan & Somalia), under the bridge in Ventimiglia, near the French border              Refugees receiving shoes, socks, other items, and backpacks, from the Church in Ventimiglia, 3.16.23

In Torino, Colori Vivi, an organization which helps women and a few men to sew professionally continues to help refugees gain skills and jobs in high-end sewing. They provide opportunities for employment in many of Italy's clothing factories.  Barbara Spezzini has so much love for the refugees that she works with.  She wants to make sure that those who are training can have the skills to help provide for them and their families.  The Church helps provide sewing machines and other items for the refugees and migrants for this job training.  In our visit there last Friday, Barbara said that she always hopes to help just one more refugee, with one more machine, so that she can help change one more life.  

 

       Colori Vivi in Torino, with Becky, 2 Sister missionaries, Barbara Spezini (director), another worker, and 

                       migrant women doing professional sewing, with machines donated by the Church

Today we went to Milan for the opening ceremony of the new offices for an organization called Banco Farmaceutico.  They help collect unused, unopened, and not out of date medicines and prescriptions from pharmacies and collection points.  They then donate them to organizations that help the poor, refugees, and those in need.  It is a wonderful service.  The Church helped purchase collection bins and other materials, and members volunteered service to help collect the medicines.  The archbishop of Milan conducted prayers and comments today, and cut the ribbon for the ceremony.  We have been with him for two other projects that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints helped with.  

  

Left: Archbishop M. Delpini at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of the facilities for Banco Farmaceutico.

Right:  At the new offices for Banco Farmaceutico in Milan, 3.25.23.  The Church helps with this effort to collect

            and re-distribute medicines and prescriptions to charities that help the poor, refugees, and those in need.

Next week we will work with an organization called Fondazione AVSI.  The Church in northern Italy has had 2 projects with them this last year in job training for refugees.  One was in professional welding and construction, and the other was in professional catering.  The pictures below are from our last visit with the catering job training, in their classes.  We have a very tough visit to them this week, to go to a job site where some of them are now employed in a chocolate factory in Milan. 

 

Refugees and migrants from several countries, in the job training for professional catering in Milan, funded by the Church, in partnership with Fondazione AVSI. Participants were from Africa, Ukraine, and multiple other countries.

We may not have previously mentioned an organization that we worked with in Milan to help feed refugees from Ukraine: Casa Scalabriniana (ASCS).  The Church helped provide food for the Ukrainian refugees for 4 months, young single adults helped teach the Ukrainian children the Italian language in classes for about 4 months, and at Christmas, the young single adults put on a marvelous Christmas musical program.  A picture of some of the missionaries and young single adults who helped with that program is shown below.  One of the young single adults was actually from Ukraine herself, and took the train 2 hours to be there to sing.  She was marvelous, and was an inspiration to everyone there.  

At ASCS in Milan for a Christmas program for refugees from Ukraine and other countries.  Performed by young

single adults (including one from Ukraine herself, to the right of Becky), and missionaries.  

On our preparation days we have taken advantage of the beautiful surrounding countrysides where we live.  We were able to visit Colico, at the north end of Lake Como. Colico is surrounded by beautiful mountains.  We actually thought that one of the mountains looked a lot like Ben Lomond, where we live in North Ogden.  The only thing Mt. Ben Lomond is missing is beautiful Lake Como.

                                          Left: Bryan & Becky in Colico, on Lake Como,3.11.23;                                                                                         Right: Becky, in Nembro, near our town, Alzano Lombardo, 3.22.23

  Bryan and Becky                                                                                                Alzano Lombardo, Italy