ESC: Beyond Disability 2024

Fondazione Don Giovanni Zanandrea ONLUS (ZANANDREA) was founded in 1918 in the Municipality of Cento (FE), a city of 36,000 inhabitants in Emilia Romagna Region, Italy. ZANANDREA is located in the centre of the city in an ancient building hosting a therapeutic garden for people with disabilities completely renovated in 2004. From the very beginning, ZANANDREA was created to answer the most urgent needs of the fragile population of its territory. It was initially the home of the orphanage for orphans of the world wars, then it became a boys' boarding school and a family group hosting minors in disadvantaged conditions was active until 2011. Since 1985 ZANANDREA has been working in the field of disability managing a daily centre, named Pilacà. Here 25 people with disability over the age of 18 are daily hosted coming from the neighbouring areas in the province of Bologna and Ferrara. 15 health care and educators daily organize non formal activities for clients. Pilacà assists people with physical and cognitive disabilities, including severe ones, through an educational and assistance approach providing health care and pedagogical, psychological support through Non-Formal educational activities. They aim at promoting the acquisition and maintenance of autonomy, supporting at the same time families in the shared management of the disabled relatives. Non-Formal Education (NFE) is one of the methodological pillars with which ZANANDREA has been working for years to allow the achievement of autonomy and expressiveness, inspiring at the same time socialization out of socio-physical isolation, approaching experiences on culture, sport and hiking in inclusive outdoor education. ZANANDREA also hosts a Centro Socio Occupazionale (CSO), a protected laboratory facilitating the integration into the labour market for people who could hardly do it independently. CSO offers workshops, for up to 8 people, with creative / artistic characteristics boosting manual skills with the possibility of being developed in the future as a real specific work or everyday activity. CSO is also running a specific branch which offers direct work to disabled guests. Currently the employment project consists in the final packaging of sugar boxes for local bars and restaurants. ZANANDREA offers its guests various recreational-type activities to ensure growth, empowerment and the maintenance of individual autonomy acquired. These include music therapy, sports tournaments, dance and relaxation, excursions in the area, artistic workshops, multimedia activities, as well as ensuring the personal care of all its guests. ZANANDREA also offers accommodation for people with specific frailties such as asylum seekers or homeless families in the Cento district, having apartments and rooms available in the central structure. The collaboration with cooperatives and social services is constant, making ZANANDREA a key and central reality at the centre of the territorial inclusive process and a point of reference for the inclusion actions of young people and people with fewer opportunities. Main Motivation for participating to the European Solidarity Corps programme is to give to young people the possibility to share our values related to inclusion and equity of people with fewer opportunities, hosting and sending volunteers for a life experience in motivating environments putting at the centre the human being and a specific attention to disability. We do believe that ESC might change lives and field experiences with vulnerable clients and motivated staff daily working with them might create a positive setting for future personal and professional developments. We have been opening ZANANDREA to the European dimension, working on KA2 projects related to innovation in inclusion and societal challenges and we consider ESC a step forward, opening up our organization and our local community to new stimuli and backgrounds that volunteers might bring with them. We are ready to design with other European supporting organizations projects for individual mobility (short and long mobility), owning safe and accessible accommodation for participants with fewer opportunities, including volunteers on wheelchiair. We beleve to have the right management oraganization with experienced staff on European project management processes and skilled tutors and mentors with socio-educational backgrounds. Our clients will benefit from new inputs and ideas brought by volunteers and volunteers will benefit from a deep human exchange, developing competences for life and fostering societal challenges like Inclusion and Diversity and non discrimination with a special focus on people with fewer opportunities.