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John Paul II Foundation / News

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Magazine, News
October 3, 2024

It is December 25, 2023, Christmas Day. In the mental photograph that is imprinted in everyone's head, the image that appears in our foreground is that of our family, finally reunited and happy around a set table. That same day in Zuara, off the coast of Libya, in the moments when we were laughing punctuating the time between a glass of wine and a gift to unwrap, Dylan (fictitious name for privacy reasons) was swimming through the furious waves of the sea, desperately trying to get on a barge with his children and his wife. With water at his throat and his arms raised to the sky, almost as if in prayer, he held his two- and four-year-old children aloft to protect them from the stormy sea and lead them to the boat. After a strenuous struggle against the current, Dylan managed to reach the...

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Magazine, News
September 20, 2024

On Thursday, Sept. 19, FGP2 celebrated an important milestone for a number of guests of reception centers in Tuscany: 6 of them obtained the Italian language diploma "CILS A2 Integrazione." This is a crucial step toward integration and social inclusion as it provides students with useful tools to improve their autonomy and participation in the community. The elegant and excited students celebrated with joy, showing their commitment to learning the Italian language. Special thanks went to Francesco, course leader, for his passion and dedication in leading the group. During the event, Benedetta Manocchio, founder of the "iLOL" school that made the graduations possible, thanked the students, expressing pride in their journey. She, in addition, shared a touching memory from a few years ago when she worked at the center as a teacher. During a class, the crying of an infant interrupted the course and to allow the...

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Magazine, News
September 16, 2024

On Sunday afternoon, September 15, in one of the most active neighborhoods of the Florentine capital, Isolotto, the Foundation participated in a moment of prayer and meditation on peace. The event, proposed by several Florentine parishes, extended the invitation also to other denominations and lay realities in the city, committed to pursuing a peace that starts from the "I. In turn, speakers urged accountability through thoughts and reflections. Several references were made to the armaments sector, always a sensitive issue to address but one that has reached record numbers in terms of market and production that are no longer negligible. In fact, there are nearly 60 wars going on in the world today, never so many since the end of World War II. In the wake of this, FGP2 reported the direct testimony of Father Ibrahim Faltas, a member of our BOD, who for years has been working on the front lines in the Holy Land for a definitive peace...

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Press Releases, Magazine, News
September 3, 2024

Florence, Sept. 3, 2024 The John Paul II Foundation joins the initiative promoted by some Florentine parishes to call for peace, "If you want peace, prepare peace." We reproduce the poster that the communities have prepared to invite everyone to Isolotto for Sunday, September 15. The John Paul II Foundation, which has been working in the Middle East for more than twenty-five years, joins the invitation to participate in the prayer meeting for peace, promoted by some Florentine parishes, for Sunday, September 15 in the Isolotto square in Florence. The Foundation fully endorses what the parish communities wrote, "Peace will never be the fruit of distrust, the fruit of walls, of weapons pointed at one another. St. Paul says, "Each one will reap what he has sown" (Gal 6:7). Brothers and sisters, our civilizations right now are sowing destruction, fear. Let us, brothers and sisters, sow hope! Let us be sowers of hope" (Pope Francis). Pope Francis was one of the first to declare that...

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Magazine, News
August 21, 2024

Taking in families, in our case of asylum seekers, also means having to take care of children, and this is precisely the biggest, but also the most interesting challenge we face: the youngest children represent, in fact, the future of the nuclei we host and their great opportunity to improve their situation and build a very different tomorrow from what their lives have been so far. This is why one of the priorities of the John Paul II Foundation has always been the schooling of our children. The results obtained are truly noteworthy: over the years, the work of the operators has made it possible to create a fruitful collaboration with the schools of Montevarchi and Fiesole in Tuscany that sees a constant dialogue between operators, teachers and educators. This year as many as 9 children will be enrolled in Montevarchi schools, while in Fiesole there will be 14. This is a step...

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Magazine, News
August 16, 2024

After the summer vacation of 2023, we had started the new school year with great enthusiasm, organizing creative teaching activities to engage our hearing-impaired pupils in the learning process. Unfortunately, after only a month, we had to close the school due to the ongoing war. Despite the difficulties, in January, we bravely reopened the school even though due to the conflict and road restrictions, only a few pupils were able to return to the Institute, because many of them come from countries and villages far from Bethlehem and cannot pass the strict controls around them. This situation caused us great pain and frustration, but we did not give up. We met with the children's families and decided to start again, slightly adjusting the teaching disciplines to make up for lost time and continue the training-education of our deaf children. After the Christmas holidays, it was heartwarming to see all the pupils return to...

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Magazine, News
August 13, 2024

The "Inclusi di diritto!" project, funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, has been underway in Iraq since September 2022. The project takes place in the cities of Basra and Baghdad and involves three preschools accommodating 665 boys and girls. The main result was to have strengthened the skills of 62 teachers, providing them with the necessary tools to stimulate and accompany children in the early years, which are crucial for physical, mental and behavioral development. The project also improved the educational environment in Basra's preschools by making children's learning more appropriate, thanks to innovative applied teaching methodologies and improved educational environments and related materials. In an Iraq devastated by years of armed conflict, children have great difficulty in accessing quality education. This is predominantly provided by Christian schools, which, as they do not receive government support, are inaccessible...

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Magazine, News
August 8, 2024

The John Paul II Foundation, in collaboration with the Municipality of Terranuova Bracciolini, the Municipality's Social Services, Caritas of Terranuova Bracciolini, Auser and Misericordia di Terranuova Bracciolini, has launched an innovative co-housing project at an apartment confiscated from the Mafia. This project marks a significant step toward social inclusion and represents the beginning of true co-planning to respond in an integral way to the needs of the community. The co-housing project is designed to address both the housing emergency and the need for temporary support for people who need a period of support before they can continue their integration journey independently. This shared living environment meets the needs of the participants by providing them with a unique opportunity to live in a common space that promotes cooperation and a sense of community. Welcomed families are also expected to actively participate as volunteers in local associations, contributing to greater integration...

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Magazine, News
August 2, 2024

The John Paul II Foundation, in collaboration with the Assisi International Peace Center (CIPA project leader co-financed by AICS), has launched a project to support small-scale farmers in Burkina Faso. The initiative is focused on creating sustainable incomes and food security for the country's poorest people. Through this project, a center will be established that will enable 13 local agricultural cooperatives to manage their production according to the quality standards required by supermarkets. This will enable the producers to obtain a much higher remuneration than that available in the rural market, greatly improving the economic conditions of the families involved. The goal is not only to ensure adequate food resources, but also to provide a stable income that can sustain the well-being of the families. In addition, this initiative aims to create development opportunities within local communities, thereby reducing the need to migrate in search of...

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Magazine, News
July 2, 2024

From 24 to 27 June, the 96th plenary assembly of ROACO (Meeting of Aid Societies to the Oriental Churches) was held, in which the John Paul II Foundation also participated. This year, the assembly focused on the grave difficulties that Christians, especially in the Middle East, are facing. Wars, internal conflicts and insecurity are the main reasons why a large part of the Christian population in the Middle East is abandoning their territories to live in the diaspora. The meeting concluded with a moving papal audience, during which Pope Francis renewed his appeal for peace, declaring: "Once again I say: enough! enough. because violence will never bring peace." A strong call for an end to violence and the search for peaceful solutions to the ongoing crises. This event underlined the importance of international solidarity and cooperation to support Christian communities in places of conflict,...

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