The first project: in Brazil, in 2000. Then a kindergarten was built to accommodate one hundred children. The first volunteer left in 2002: destination Madagascar, at the school in the village of Sarodroa. Mission Bambini ETS turns 25 years of activity and celebrates them with the balance of over two thousand projects developed in Italy and in 76 other countries who have made a difference in the lives of one million five hundred thousand children.
The Foundation was created in January 2000 by engineer Goffredo Modena, who is still its president. (the current general director is Stefano Oltolini). Since its origins, Mission Bambini has mainly operated in two areas of intervention: health and education. The flagship of the activities is the program “Children’s Heart”through which numerous doctors from Italian hospitals leave as volunteers to visit and operate on children with serious heart malformations. Missions are planned in Uganda, Zambia, Tanzania, Nepal and Eritrea in 2025. In special cases, small patients are operated on in Italy, where they must be accompanied by a parent. For this Mission Bambini is creating the “Children’s Heart House” at the Niguarda Hospital in Milan, a structure dedicated to hosting parents whose children need to be operated on in pediatric cardiac surgery. The grand opening is scheduled for this fall. “Children’s Heart” also aims to promote the training of local medical personnel in various countries to make them autonomous in the treatment of childhood heart disease.
In the field of education, Mission Bambini works to promote access to quality education even in the most difficult and disadvantaged countries and contexts, combining the educational aspect with the development of integral well-being of minors (nutritional, healthcare, psychological) in synergy with local partners. Particular attention is paid to female empowerment in areas where girls and women are more vulnerable and at risk of marginalization: the “Pink Bags” project allows girls and boys living in contexts of poverty and hardship in India, Bangladesh, Uganda and Brazil to receive an education and complete their studies. In various Italian cities (Catania, Bari, Milan, Rome, Naples) Mission Bambini promotes educational activities both in early childhood centers and in primary and lower secondary schools, to combat educational poverty. Information: www.missionbambini.org
(Photo by Roberto Morelli)
