Fundraising by Giulia Zurlini

Many of you have asked me how I want to celebrate my 40th birthday.

I would like to do so by retracing the journey so far, which has allowed me to become who I am today. And in this perpetual becoming, which accompanies us as we grow, I am who I am today thanks to you, to the encounter with each other, and to all the relationships built and cultivated over the years.

From each one of you I have learned something important, which still follows me, characterizes me, nourishes me, makes me remember where I came from and how I got there... Among these aspects transmitted, fundamental are some values: closeness to others, sharing, empathy, active citizenship, listening, dialogue, fairness, nonviolence, justice, truth, creativity, the ability to downplay, dedication... and I could go on...

In these values, I recognized myself and tried to make them my own, living them in particular through Operation Dove, which, in recent years, has allowed me to meet in Colombia the peasants of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó. These people have been resisting armed conflict and its consequences since '97, through nonviolence and our international accompaniment, to protect land, the environment and Human Rights. From them I learned what tenacity, hard work is, and what it means to transform great suffering into Love for others, to make community.

So how would I like to celebrate my 40th birthday? By continuing to walk together on the path I started and trying not to lose what I have found to be the "straight path" for me.

Can you help me do that? Thank you for being there!