A life choice that came after a painful moment. A liver transplant, little hope of survival. Then that «second life» which makes Angelo say, «even when he was hospitalized in Pisa: “If the Lord has given me these other days it is because it is a gift that we must give to others, we must take care of other children”». Nicoletta Barbato tells, with a smile in her eyes, “the call”. A few months had passed since their return home and they, who are part of the Emmaus fraternity, received the request to take care of a family home in Pompeii. The whole family, parents and two children Arianna and Emilio, who now works in Pavia, move from Poggio Marino. «We had just finished renovating our house, but we had no doubts about leaving everything and going to help these children who needed us». Al John Paul II Center for Children and Families they find little ones, from zero to three years old, who need the warmth of a family waiting to mend the rift with their family of origin or to be adopted by someone else if the conditions cannot be remedied.
«They are children who need to be looked after by a family. We currently have three. The house could accommodate up to eight, but we try not to increase the number so as to have the necessary time for each one. Of course we don’t do everything alone, but there are also educators. Both my husband and I have kept our jobs and are there to provide the stability they need. And then we also meet their parents. In their eyes we see how much they want to be reunited despite having their parental rights suspended. These are naturally protected meetings in the hope that the problems that led to foster care can be resolved. In the past, a child has actually returned to his parents while for others there has been adoption. From the Pope one of the adoptive families will be with us at the time of the meeting.”
A commitment, which Nicoletta does not want to call either work or volunteering. «We are simply family for the time it takes to face the fragility of their parents. We take care of it in this time of passage. And the presence of educators is important with us. I remember, for example, a little girl who arrived as if she were dull. She had never been picked up, she had never been stimulated. Now it’s a volcano, very lively.”
They have already been to the Pope, «and I had it blessed», in St. Peter’s Square, at the beatification of Bartolo Longo. «And now it’s another grace to have him here. The older children wait for it. They are ready to “high five” with him”.
They prepared for the meeting «first and foremost with prayer. We have longed for this blessing from the Pope.” Being close to the sanctuary «is a privilege for us. I’m not saying that you don’t feel the effort, because staying up all night for a newborn at 51 years of age isn’t easy, but we feel part of that love project of Bartolo Longo, we are continuing, albeit in a small way, to continue his dream”.
