The Matteo Ricci Center turns two
The Matteo Ricci Centre, a hospitality centre run by Centro Astalli, for refugee and asylum seekers women, alone or with children, inaugurated in February 2019 in the presence of the President of the Republic, turns two years old. Made available by the Euro-Mediterranean Province of the Society of Jesus, the spaces, both personal and common, are full of light and welcoming, in the very heart of Rome.
Every day, mothers and children, in search of inclusion and a future, come and go through the green door on the corner of Via degli Astalli, near a Marian aedicule and next to the historic door of the Astalli canteen. They come from Asia, Africa and South America. One was even born there.
The impact of Covid
4 staff members, 10 volunteers, 2 young people engaged in civil service take care of it. Animation, movie forums, aerobics lessons and recreational workshops, Italian classes: many of the proposals have been slowed down by Covid, such as the training courses activated in the hotel and food service sectors. “Particularly for the minors, it was a period of great difficulty,” explains Fr. Giuseppe Trotta SJ, a Jesuit working at Centro Astalli, “in some cases faced with the support of therapists. Distance learning was possible thanks to the technological supports that the center provided, in order to be able to carry out all the lessons at the same time.”
In spite of this particular time, several encouraging signs have been identified along the way. “One girl has signed a fixed-term contract and another has begun an apprenticeship in the area of cleaning and sanitizing. With other women, the integration program defined before the pandemic has been reconsidered together. Two families and other single women refugees are already on their way out of the center and a Year 2021 full of opportunities and good wishes is opening for them”.
A regeneration place
The place is regenerating even for those who intercept it as volunteers. “I immediately felt a cleaner air, free of malice, essential and welcoming. I didn’t understand why until I got to know the people who work and live there,” says Velia, 16, “especially the children, with whom we spent a providential day outdoors.
“Their cheerful and carefree faces, despite the difficulties, have brought light to my life,” adds Lavinia, 18. “Their gratitude and the invitation to stay longer, a deep joy”.
“The mutual helpfulness of the people who share the spaces made me reflect on how much today’s society is suspicious, missing out on a great treasure,” reflects Giulia, 18. Providential encounters, capable of marking everyday life and renewing it in a small way: “We are now dreaming, thanks to them and for them, of new opportunities to make them feel welcome, precious and to discover that we are capable of a different outlook. The Center has been truly regenerating for us”.
