In Bussolengo, on 23 November, Monsignor Domenico Pompili, Bishop of Verona, blessed the solidarity emporium, which was solemnly inaugurated in the presence of the main authorities of the city and the numerous voluntary associations that participated in the project, strongly desired by Father Diego Righetti, Moderator, Parish Priest of the pastoral unit of Bussolengo.
A space of solidarity and welcome
“This space behind us,” stressed Mgr Domenico, “is ready to become a time, a time in which we realize, or rather, we see who is hungry, who is thirsty, who is a stranger, who is sick. This passage from space to time is very important because, if we really want to live, we must be able to answer the question about the time in which we live and not simply remain tied to spaces where there is no life left. So, together with you, I would like to thank those who have made possible this conversion of a space into a time of welcome, of waiting and of concern, because that seems to me to be the name of the Emporium.”
The space was created in a wing of the former Redemptorist seminary, next to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Perpetual Help and, to the left upon entering on the ground floor of the medical emergency room. After a corridor, where architectural barriers have been removed, the space opens onto a series of reception and listening rooms and, at the end of the corridor, there is the emporium itself with food on the shelves.
Fruit of the collaboration of many
“A work of many hands,” explained Don Diego, “which was born from the legacy of Giulio Cotrozzi, from the precise will of the Redemptorist Fathers of the Province of Southern Europe, in particular in the person of Father Daniele Carta, current superior of Bussolengo, Father Sergio Santi and the Provincial Father Gennaro Sorrentino.” Father Diego also thanked the companies and individuals who participated in the project, and Caritas, which trained the volunteers.
A work that comes from below and addresses the basic needs of people and families in difficulty. A testing ground for volunteering and a field of solidarity training in which our associations participate, the Circoli Noi, the young people of Caritas Jovenes led by Don Franesco Lampronti, the Acli, the Alpini, the Unitalsi, the Avis de Bussolengo.”
Words of applause from Mayor Roberto Brizzi: “A beautiful signal coming from the Church and going through the whole territory: leave no one behind” and from the Honourable Paola Boscaini, who gave a helping hand behind the scenes to smooth out bureaucratic rough edges. “I am very happy that Bussolengo, with the Emporium, is finally at the forefront of responding to the needs of people, safeguarding their dignity,” he concluded.
A project to support those most in need
The Emporium Solidarity is a network project that, beyond the traditional “shopping package” model, offers a coordinated and free food collection and distribution service, organized like a neighborhood supermarket, where people and families in difficulty can choose products from the shelves independently. Within the Emporiums a basket of basic necessities is guaranteed, but the overall supply depends on the quantity and variety of donated and recovered products.
Volunteers welcome families, accompany them during their shopping, guide them towards proper nutrition and take care of all practical and organizational aspects such as restocking shelves, cash registers and warehouse management. The Emporiums of Solidarity are organized as multifunctional spaces and as a new model of support that aims to generate environments in which people can make friends, participate in small workshops and events, rediscovering confidence in the possibility of change.
Lino Cattabianchi
