A review of the last six months of activity by the ‘A Bridge for Lebanon’ project, which has its collection centre for medicines, medical supplies and more in Loppiano.
By Tamara Pastorelli
The war between Israel and Hezbollah, which has intensified since last March, and Israel’s invasion of southern Lebanon, has triggered an unprecedented humanitarian crisis: over 3,600 people have been killed in the attacks and more than a million displaced persons have been forced to leave their homes and move towards Beirut. It is against this dramatic backdrop that the ‘A Bridge for Lebanon’ project continues to operate, promoted by the Focolare Movement in Italy, in collaboration with the Apostolic Vicariate of the Latins in Beirut, the John Paul II Foundation, the UNIFIL Air Force and Army, the Lebanese Red Cross and the ‘New Paths for a United World’ association.
“A Bridge for Lebanon was launched in 2021 to ensure continuity of treatment and care for chronic patients,” explains Dr Luigi Triggiano, a retired doctor from Arezzo and one of the Italian coordinators of the project. “That year, an economic and financial crisis had struck the Middle Eastern country and had led, among many other consequences, to the disappearance of medicines from pharmacies.”
5 flights, 42 pallets of medicines and hygiene kits sent in the first few months of 2026 alone. If we add these to those sent from 2021 to the present day, the total reaches 400 quintals of medicines. Not to mention the 40 quintals of powdered milk. “All this has been possible only thanks to a formidable network of practical fraternity, woven between Italy and Lebanon,” says the doctor from Arezzo.
The Italian network of Un Ponte per il Libano now involves 19 regions. Coordination is entirely Tuscan. Alongside Triggiano are: Piero Tessieri, Elisabetta Mei, Cristina Giorgetti, and Elena Tonacchera of the Focolare Movement’s New Humanity. Furthermore, there are 62 local coordinators for collection, 18 associations and 10 active communities. “In each of the regions, more hubs have emerged, leading to a significant increase in the collection of medicines and medical supplies over the last year and a half. It is impossible to list all the volunteers,” continues Triggiano.
In Lebanon, however, the network is coordinated by Osvaldo Garcia of the Apostolic Vicariate of the Latins. Here, 9 associations and 9 Health Centres ensure the direct distribution of medicines and medical supplies to 3,520 sick or needy people.
Crucial to the success of this initiative is the partnership with the Italian Air Force and Army (UNIFIL), which handles transport and ensures distribution from Italy to Lebanon. But that is not all. “We share part of what we collect with the UNIFIL forces themselves. The UNIFIL armed forces, under Commander Abagnara, are in fact the only ones able to deliver aid to the affected populations in the south of the country. And, among these, we are proud to say that our medicines are also included, which they manage directly,” emphasises Triggiano.
Loppiano is also a hub in this network. To be precise, the Conto Terzi warehouse is the centre for the collection, storage and dispatch of medicines and other goods destined for the Land of the Cedars, which arrive from all over Italy. The work of Araceli Bigoni is invaluable here; together with Luigi, she receives the incoming supplies and packs them onto pallets. “For me, it’s about doing something to help our Lebanese brothers and sisters,” Araceli explains simply.
Sometimes, “helping” also means putting one’s own plans on hold. “On 1 May, for example, right in the middle of the youth festival (there were about a thousand participants this year), I’d offered to make the sandwiches. At one point, they called me and told me that on a coach coming down from Trentino-Alto Adige and Veneto, as well as the young people, there were 16 boxes of medicines for Lebanon collected during the stops on the journey to Loppiano. So, I dropped everything and went to open the warehouse.”
Luigi’s plans also had to change unexpectedly on 2 June, Republic Day: “I was at home with some friends when two volunteers from the north called me saying they were arriving in Loppiano with a van loaded with medical supplies. So, I got my guests involved and we came to welcome them to Loppiano.”
Then there were other, surprising phone calls. “A while ago I received a call from an unknown number, which went something like this…”, Dr Luigi Triggiano’s voice still retains a note of amusement as he recalls it. “I am the retired colonel of the Vercelli Alpine Troops – he repeats, imitating the peremptory tone of his caller –. ‘We have the best rice in the world! We’ve been trying to get in touch with the Italian Army for four months but no one’s listening to us. We want to send this stuff to Lebanon. We’ve been in contact with the Apostolic Vicariate of the Latins in Beirut and they told us to ring Luigi!’” He pauses slyly: “I told him not to worry and to bring everything to Loppiano: they sent four pallets of rice! Obviously, if one, with a bit of empathy, puts oneself in the shoes of the Lebanese people, it’s a drop in the ocean. Perhaps a few glasses. But the important thing is that it arrives on time.”