On August 29th, marking the thirty-fourth anniversary of Libero Grassi’s death, the ninth edition of the initiative “Sailing for Social Inclusion” took place in collaboration with the Lega Navale Italiana
The sailing event aboard offshore boats—including the Ionia 97, entrusted to the LNI of Catania and named after Libero Grassi—involved young people from the Kalsa and CEP neighborhoods, where educators from Addiopizzo and the collective center San Giovanni Apostolo work throughout the year.
Thanks also to support from the Otto per Mille fund of the Tavola Valdese, this initiative brought together 50 boys and girls, accompanied by our educators and Alfredo Chiodi, grandson of the entrepreneur murdered by Cosa nostra. The boat trip is part of a broader effort and of a series of activities and interventions to combat educational poverty and delinquency that Addiopizzo has been carrying out for some time in the historical center of Palermo.
It is not enough to accompany and support traders and entrepreneurs in reporting intimidation and extortion if we do not also commit to eliminating the pockets of urban and social decay that contribute to the spread of delinquency and organized crime. Since 2015, in particular in the Kalsa neighborhood where Addiopizzo’s office is located, volunteers and staff from the Association have been working to promote access to spaces and moments of sociability as well as fundamental rights such as education, health, housing, and employment.
Support programs for schooling at Addiopizzo headquarters, medical check-ups, and sports inclusion activities at the San Basilio gym, provided by the “Rita Borsellino” comprehensive institute, are aimed at diverting those living in Piazza Magione from negative paths.
Urban regeneration and exploration projects and inclusion activities capture the need and desire to change perspective, to cross the boundaries of a space that is joy and pride but can sometimes become a labyrinth without exit for the young people who grow up in Kalsa and who, in this place, are forced to face neglect and abandonment.
