“The nights grow particularly dark here in Kawangware. In this part of the city, the absence of electric lighting is an everyday reality. It was late when I was heading home, and suddenly, something unexpected happened. My memories of those moments are blurry; I was covered in mud and only vaguely aware of what was happening around me. I touched my head and noticed the color red, which I thought wasn’t mine. My friend, worried, ran home to inform my mother about the incident. The last thing I remember is being taken to a white-and-blue room, surrounded by people wearing white coats.
The next day, I was still a bit confused. I felt something on my head and discovered it was surgical stitches, necessary to treat a wound at the back of my head. I could touch them, feel them raised under my fingers. I didn’t fully understand what was happening, but I was happy to be there. I couldn’t go home yet, but that didn’t seem so important. I made new friends, discovering that they, too, had their own stories of trouble. Despite everything, they seemed happy to share this space with me. We spent our days laughing and playing.
Today was a lucky day. I had something to wear on my feet, avoiding the risk of falling and hurting myself again. I don’t remember the last time I had something like that on my feet—maybe when I stole my mother’s first pair of sandals. She’s still upset about that act of disobedience.
My new friends keep teasing me, pointing out that what I have on my feet aren’t really sandals because they’re too big and don’t fit properly. They say I could hurt myself if I keep wearing them, but I smile and joke along with them. Today is truly my lucky day.”
A Boy Living in Switzerland
“An individual from a developing region has encountered significant challenges due to painful perforations in the bones of their lower limbs. These injuries were caused by external factors and voluntary actions that resemble the effects of a drilling tool. It is heartbreaking to witness such suffering, and it is essential to provide compassionate and comprehensive care to facilitate their healing and recovery. However, restoring their sense of dignity and self-identity is even more challenging.
"This doesn’t mean that after battling depression, everything else feels so much happier by comparison. There are days when I feel very sad or very anxious. But I no longer have days, weeks, or months when I don’t care about my life at all. The opposite of happiness isn’t sadness—it’s indifference. The opposite of a life with depression is a life with all its ups and downs, with pain and love, with smiles and tears, with adventures and days spent in bed, with moments of illness and moments of ex
“‘Colui che l’amore non tocca cammina nelle tenebre,’ ho sentito dire una volta. La ragione per cui dovremmo sforzarci di compiere buone azioni in questa vita è per nutrire l’anima e lo spirito prima ancora di concentrarci sul corpo fisico. Attraverso questo impegno, diventiamo portatori di torcia per illuminare un cammino, il nostro viaggio e quello di chi è più debole. Con ciò, ci assumiamo la responsabilità di toccare e trasformare le tenebre in una luce di speranza per coloro che rimangono a
"There are days when, as I look into my daughter’s eyes, I see her mother, my wife, reflected in them. I still feel guilty, just like that time when I couldn’t hear her mother screaming inside that hospital room. 'Didn’t you hear me screaming at the top of my lungs in that room?' she sometimes jokes, adding that she needed my help more than ever in that moment. At times, I think I’ll never fully accept that there was nothing I could have done for her if things hadn’t turned out well that morning
“After my son was born in 2015, as I watched him grow, I realized that a parent’s touch or embrace is something that has no price and knows no age. When my son started playing rugby, I got into it too, and it quickly became my favorite sport. After a few years in Milan, however, work took me far from home for an extended stay in Latin America, lasting more than 18 months, through Brazil, Mexico, and Chile. I learned to deeply appreciate my work and the challenges it has brought me over time. I’v
“Under ‘normal’ circumstances, you have time to plan everything: you choose the destination, you go to a travel agency, you gather information about the route and the most convenient means of transport; you book hotels and make a note of interesting places to visit… You plan a trip and look forward to it: you want to leave to discover new places, meet new people, try new foods, experience new cultures. The journey is your dream come true: first, you create it in your mind, then you live it in re