by Paolo Lòriga
The first Universal Civic Service experience in Loppiano finished at the end of June. Here are the assessments of the four young volunteers: Miriam, Majdi, Gabriel and Manuel.
‘Very enriching in many ways,’ sums up Miriam. ‘It has matured me as a person and helped me become a fully active citizen,’ confides Manuel. ‘It allowed me to become aware of social and environmental challenges,’ says Gabriel. ‘It allowed me to grow in consistency between what I say and teach and the way I live,’ says Majdi. The four young people have no doubts about the outcome of their year-long Universal Civic Service experience in Loppiano, which ended at the end of June. It was also a new experience for Loppiano, because, for the first time, it set up a project in collaboration with Confcooperative Toscana and the efficient coordinator Eleonora Badesso. The project was then approved by the Department of Youth Policies of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. The four young people carried out their service (24 hours a week), working in the reception sector in Loppiano.
‘This experience has allowed me to meet young people and adults from different countries and to understand Italian society better,’ says Gabriel Mulimbi, a 28-year-old civil engineer from Congo Kinshasa, who was already in Loppiano for a period of training as a young member of the Focolare Movement. “In addition, I have acquired skills in project management, software use, communication and, in particular, teamwork. Civic service in the Little Town allowed me to commit myself to causes that are close to my heart and taught me to take the initiative.
“Majdi Abdallah, 29, a graduate in Sports Science with a master’s degree in Conflict Management and Humanitarian Action, now a student at Sophia in Philosophy and Trinitarian Ontology, comes from Palestine. With him, the tragedy of his people was shared deeply by everyone. ‘Civic service,’ he says, ‘was a good opportunity to put my talents and years of experience into practice, using education through sport to inspire the people I met here to believe that they too can be peacemakers and use their skills to create peaceful societies.’
‘I wanted to give a year of my life to others, and doing so in Loppiano was wonderful because, through Civic Service, I was able to give back to the young visitors I met what I had received as a gift from those who welcomed me to Loppiano for the first time,’ says Miriam Gallifuoco enthusiastically. Miriam is from Gorgonzola, Milan, aged 24, with a degree in Education Sciences and work experience as an educator with people in difficult situations. “Working in a team of four, we also conveyed a message of interculturality to visitors, because we have different sensibilities, different ways of welcoming others and of developing programmes for visitors. So it was a matter of learning to listen to each other and finding the most suitable proposal for each group that arrived.”
Manuel Cibra, 23, a graduate in administration and finance, is the closest to Loppiano. He lives in Figline Valdarno. He left the Civic Service two months before the end to attend a course in thermohydraulics, but he remained attached to it. ‘It was a truly formative experience. It helped me develop a foundation of social, interpersonal and personal skills that I can reuse in any work or social setting. I can now contribute to the community in a positive way.’ The four remain convinced that they have had ‘a team experience in the spirit of Loppiano and that they have been able to pass on something authentic to the many young people and adults visiting the little town, because it was something that matured among us and with the welcoming group.’