ENTERTAINMENT OF FREE TIME FOR MARGINALIZED AND DIFFERENTLY-ABLE PEOPLE
The entertainment of free time is undoubtedly the most consistent commitment, because of the detailed organization. It requires: the active participation of numerous volunteers, to entertain the midweek meetings and to accompany people during the usual Sunday trips and holidays journeys. Sunday trips are so important, longed-for and attended, that the association had to buy two vans in order to have participating even people who do not own any means of transport or cannot drive a car.
Sharing relaxing moments or celebrations, together with the efforts of organizing and managing them, make them much more than normal “trips”, strengthen relationships and highlight people’s hidden abilities. It happens often, that people who overcame some difficult personal situations now work as volunteers. It’s not uncommon to find that one’s disabilities help emerging others’ qualities: the one who can see and walk leads the way for the one who cannot see and walk freely. This very dimension of reciprocal solidarity often makes difficult the distinction between the ones assisting others and the assisted ones, between “able” and “disabled” members of the association.
Entertainment is organized by volunteers, who are organized in five groups. Four of them organize the Sunday going-out, while the fifth prepares the entertainment activities enjoyable at the association’s premises, such as films or games. There is a Committee for the Association’s Activities, which aims to plan all these events and which is presided by the Responsible for the Association’s Activities.
The number of people regularly participating to the meetings may vary between 30 and 40 unities, depending on the day and the appreciation of the proposed activities.
The enrolled members are about 330, among which there are 200 volunteers (whose participation may be more or less frequent) committed to the association. The enlarged group of friends, relatives, co-workers and amateurs is composed by about 700 people, who usually gather together for the annual celebration that is held every year on the second sunday of September.
In the field of interpersonal relationships, the association’s efforts are focused on the following points:
- wednesday evening meetings, that represent opportunities to meet people, to enjoy cultural or recreational activities, or simply to spend time with friends
- sunday meetings and trips, aimed to socialize, fraternize, and to the progressive involvement of new friends
- organization of holidays, which are considered as important moments of socialization, feedback and discussion
- annual celebration: on friday, saturday and sunday, during the second week of September, the association’s members organize many activities aimed to gather both old and new friends, groups, associations, cooperatives, etc. The celebration also focuses on creating a moment of confrontation with differently-able or needing people; on the promotion of volunteering; on discussions about current social topics; on collecting individual availabilities
- theatre company composed by differently-able people, aimed at the realization of shows about topics of “differentabilities”.
These activities also represent an indirect way of providing relaxing moments to families, who are often oppressed by the daily stress of living the hard experience of facing and helping their close relatives, sons or daughters, who suffer because of psychophysical problems.
Together with these activities, there are many others that aim to strenghten the relationships between all the volunteers and the association’s worker, in order to create a solid sense of common identity:
- constant communication and dialogue among the association’s members
- discussions about educational and current subjects
- constant updating through external courses and self-development of volunteers and social workers
- realization of courses and specific seminars based on the availability and skills belonging to volunteers and other friends