Letter from President Andrea Magrini

I will never be able to show photos of poor children, dressed only in worn rags, with swollen bellies, because there are things that neither a photo nor a video can show. What I would like to let the world know, however, is all the anger, indignation and sorrow that fill my heart.

In Africa I saw hundreds of smiling children running towards you hoping for a gift, a candy. While hundreds approached, on the other side of the road I saw a boy of about 7 years old.

He stood still at the edge, observing everything, especially us, our clean clothes, our new shoes. When he met my gaze he lowered his head, his eyes became evasive, he desperately tried to pull and adjust that dirty short t-shirt that couldn't cover him enough, which unfortunately didn't make him invisible to my gaze. He was ashamed.

If you have a heart you cannot remain indifferent. Out of respect for yourself you must do something.

It would have been easy to erase everything, cowardly turn your head the other way and pretend you never saw that child, go home and not think about it anymore. Then later, if your conscience should make itself heard, you just need to find some good excuses to keep it at peace and blame someone else.

I have heard many faults and excuses and here is a good list: it's the fault of these Africans who have too many children, it's the fault of ignorance, of multinationals and globalization, the fault of imperialism, colonialism, climate, different culture, infamous destiny and much more.

Everyone's fault, but not that child's. It's not that child's fault if he hasn't eaten today, if he doesn't have shoes and didn't go to school, if he probably won't live to be 12 years old. This list of faults is of no use to him and let's admit that they don't serve us either.

What we need instead is the courage to fight every day so that that child can eat, have clean clothes, go to school, grow up and become an adult. We must find a way to help him, by giving work to his parents and the necessary tools so that one day they will no longer need our help.

Giving tomorrow to those who don't have it also means believing in that same tomorrow for us, without listening to those who keep telling us that nothing ever changes and therefore it's not worth doing anything, without listening to the masters of hatred and selfishness.

Believing and fighting against indifference and the doors that many will close in our faces, against all the cynicism that surrounds us, counting on our own strength and doing our best, so that the child who is ashamed of himself today, tomorrow, can finally raise his head, look us in the eyes, have hope, smile at us and shake our hands.

So tomorrow, meeting him, we can also thank him because he gave us the courage, the awareness of our strength, hope and respect for ourselves.

Barka Burkina!!!

Andrea Magrini
President, Si Può Fare ONLUS