25 years since that December evening in 1998 when it all began. 25 years of meetings, of new family groups, but most of all 25 years of everyday moments that have made our association what it is today. With the road in our hearts. Today as 25 years ago we decide, courageously, not to abandon the call of the street, to take as many of us by the hand as we are, to open the doors of our homes, close to the existences of all those who suffer, especially the little ones, answering the call of every child who needs a home, love and a future,
Today more than ever “we feel the challenge of discovering and transmitting the ‘mystique’ of living together, of mingling, of meeting each other, of taking each other in our arms, of leaning on each other, of participating in this somewhat chaotic tide that can turn into a true experience of fraternity, into a caravan of solidarity, into a holy pilgrimage.” (Pope Francis Evangelii Gaudium No. 87)
And today, as Salvo, our president, always reminds us, we know that we “have more future than history.” Small flames that open before us new roads to travel and new groups of families to accompany in approaching foster care and in the journey that awaits them, made up of daily life, hard work but above all joy, care and love to give and receive.
Just so many solicitations, the small flames that have been kindled in these months, flames that will take us in our near future to Puglia, but also to Piedmont, the land of Don Bosco by whom we are all inspired, the saint who dedicated his life to welcoming, inclusion, education and love for less fortunate children and young people. And it is precisely here in Piedmont that we want to begin to welcoming through family foster care making space in one’s time and home and engaging life and creating deep connections. Welcoming by opening the doors yes of one’s home, understood precisely as a dwelling but also as a heart, as a family that opens to those who are knocking on your life. Welcoming to guard and protect every person but even more so a child who has the right to be thought of as loved and accompanied in his or her life journey and daily personal challenges, has the right to feel that he or she belongs to someone, has the right to belong to someone.
And Piedmont’s little flame has been lit by the many contacts that have been made in recent weeks, but also by an event, a concert in favor of Metacometa “The 4 Elements” that will take place on April 20, 2024 at the Juvarra Theater. A musical journey built especially for the occasion by Glimmer Events to travel between different vocalities and styles going from classical to modern, but with the sole purpose of moving us along with the stories of some children, now grown up, who have experienced the reality of Metacometa’s family foster care. It will be a time of witnessing and gathering contacts of people who feel called, challenged. A small flame that we know will become that welcome for children and youth who are in need.
