The "San Giovanni Bosco" Family Home in Faenza, of the Pope John XXIII Community, has blown out 26 candles. It was 1994 when John chose to become the "father" of the lonely and to give life to a home where sadness gave way to trust and love.
Many have found in his house a shelter, a safe place to live, and in him a family. For children and adults with disabilities or from situations of hardship, Giovanni is a father, a brother, an uncle, a friend they can count on and who for 26 years has never failed to give his love, his trust, his support to anyone who looked for them.
The day is the same as any other family's and everyone is busy according to their abilities: some go to school, some to work placements, some to day care centres. As in many families, it's dinner time that's when we meet up and everyone recounts, in their own way, the adventures of the day.
A story that repeats itself very similarly, day after day, until the arrival of Covid-19, which has upset this daily routine and that of all of us.
Suspending normal activities, staying at home, limiting contact with other people has been a source of great discomfort for the children who have been taken in. Together with Giovanni live 8 people: boys and girls with difficult stories behind them or with serious mental and physical disabilities. For the latter, the daily routine is very important because it is the basis of their serenity, and the ongoing health emergency has severely tested the balance of the whole family.
Many of them did not sleep well during the darkest months of the pandemic and did not fully understand what was happening. Even today, when the weather permits, they go outdoors in the nearby countryside for long walks, but most hours are spent indoors, listening to music, playing cards or board games.
It isunfortunate that in this particular period, when we are forced to stay at home much more than usual, various appliances, essential for activities at home, have broken or started to malfunction: the dishwasher, the washing machine and even the television. The most important damage, then, was to the bathroom fixtures, which we did not expect to give problems just now.
This was a sudden expense for the Family House and for the Community, which provides for the needs of all the family houses and the people hosted there, all over Italy.

It was necessary to replace everything, we couldn't postpone it, and given the urgency, the work on the house began immediately. Now, however, we are asking for your help to cover this expense that we could not foresee. Let us celebrate the birthday of the "San Giovanni Bosco" Family Home together and give Giovanni and all his children a sincere and concrete gift, with a donation!