della Dott.ssa MARTA MOGLIE

english version

Anffas will not stop until the rights of all the people with a disability are fully granted.

This is the mission of Anffas, founded in Rome in 1958 by Luisa Maria Ubershag Menegotto, mother of a child with an ntellectual disability, who stood together with other parents to fight against prejudice and ghettoization. They started to rise up in a world imprisoned by shame and ignorance, in which those families were forced to keep their children hidden into their houses or into hospitals.

Anffas has constantly grown up in the last 60 years and it can now counts lots of social achievements, nine headquarters around the Municipality of Ancona and two educational and rehab facilities. One of them is Casa Giovanna, located in Loreto: it is open 365 days a year and 24 hours a day. With a specialized staff it offers its guests (adult people with intellectual or relational disabilities) the chance to live independently (but always supported) and to empower their capabilities and their personal and social autonomy.

The other facility, l’Oasi dei Pavoni, is located in the countryside of Castelfidardo and it’s an adult day center which is open every afternoon since Monday to Friday. It gives the possibility to its guests to spend spare time together, to play basket, athletics, bocce (there are so many cups exhibited into the office and Vera Caporaletti, president of Anffas Castelfidardo since 1985, is so proud of them). At l’Oasi dei Pavoni people can attend music courses, cooking, art and hand craft laboratories, and can cultivate zero miles food in the little vegetables garden and in the greenhouse.

The wish is to opening a didactic kitchen with a food court. The guys could learn how to work, how to cook, to settle the table, to serve and to create a relationship with customers. This is a dream, the President knows it well, especially since the biggest obstacle is and has always been bureaucracy. But she tells us she will keep fighting. Because her goal is that of giving people with disability the chance to fully live their lives, actively, raising self-consciousness and satisfaction.

At the end of the story we can’t forget to mention the enormous support the organization gives to the families. With PUNTO S.A.I. (a service of Welcome and Information), which is active for free, parents and relatives of people with a disability receive psychological support by Doctor Benedetta Galli Pacciorini, Psychologist and Coordinator of the Organization.

So, is there anything we can really do for Anffas Conero? Apart from the purchase of handcrafted decorations and products, there’s always the possibility to donate 5×1000, to contribute becoming a donor, an associate or a fundraiser, or participating to events organized by Anffas and celebrating the resources and the capabilities of an active life which includes, innovates and gives value, even in the different abilities.