*Translated by Sara Pasino
CASSANO MAGNAGO – A van full of things to donate, eleven volunteers and useful tools to join the teams that have been working in the field for days. Destination: Senigallia, Italy. The serious flood that hit the Marche on the night between September 15 and September 16 – causing victims, injured and people gone missing – did not leave the province of Varese indifferent. That’s why a small group of friends of Alessandro Cammarata, Rosafanti Rugby from Cassano Magnago, and Yuri Chinetti, Councillor for Civil Protection in Oggiona with Santo Stefano, decided to take the highway and started the journey on September 24.
«Let’s start»
The dramatic images on the news immediately raised a question: «What can we do?» A round of phone calls, some ideas on the table and in a few hours the answer came: «Let’s go». Chinetti tells the story on the phone, with the voices of the fellow travellers in the background. They begin to unload materials from the van. They will be donated to Caritas Senigallia.
This isn’t the first time the team undertakes such an expedition. The volunteers in the Gallarate area also helped people in Norcia in 2016 after the earthquake. They’ve also contributoed to the production of visors and face masks during the Covid pandemic.
The mission
The material collected by merchants and citizens (boots, shovels, pulls water, buckets and products for cleaning and hygiene) has been given to the Caritas. The volunteers have then contacted a woman from Cassano Magnago who lives in the Marche, in the province of Ancona. She led them to Pianello di Ostra, a small village particularly affected by the flood.
«We want to help individuals who are in difficulty», explains Chinetti. «We will help by shovelling, cleaning and in any other way we can make ourselves useful». Extra arms, to support the teams and civilians who are coping with the damage. But also a project that confirms how all realities, even small ones, can offer a great contribution. «We hope to improve things a bit».
