Comunità di S.Egidio

Eco-Solidarity


THERE ARE MANY USEFUL THINGS AMONG THOSE WHICH ARE THROWN AWAY. 
JUST THINK ABOUT IT!

In the wealthy world, even that which is still useful, is often thrown away. Technologies improve, fashions change, that which is broken does not get repaired.
Once can measure the wealth or the poverty of a society also from the volume of waste it produces. In fact, in poor nations where resources are scarce, people tend to utilise everything until it is worn out. In a wealthy society, instead, that which is still useful, and certainly useful to someone else, is thrown away. Eliminating every object used becomes a problem, one more cause of environmental pollution. The Community of Sant'Egidio has found a way to help many persons in difficulty in many nations, making use also of that which our society discards: outdated or used clothing, second-hand toys, every type of object..

THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE HUNGRY

The lack of food is one of the most dramatic aspects of poverty. Even in the large, wealthy European cities it is easier and easier to see persons who dig through trash bins looking for food.

THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR!

Many persons both in the northern and southern parts of the world do not have sufficient clothing . For this reason, the Community collects clothing: clothes in good condition, suited to the situation, to the climate.

THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE ILL

Health care is expensive and people in difficulty who turn to the clinics of the Community of Sant' Egidio frequently receive not only free medical check-ups, but also ask for medicine because they do not have the possibility of purchasing it.

HELP CHILDREN TO ATTEND SCHOOL

Going to school-a right. But not all children have that which is necessary to study. Books, copy books, pens, bookbags, crayons, are the essential equipment to concretely exercise the right to study.

LET THE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD PLAY

Rigiocattolo, a used-toy sale, is the name of an initiative created by the Country of the Rainbow Movement, promoted in various European cities during the weeks before Christmas.

A GIFT FOR THOSE WHO WOULD NOT GET ONE

There is no Christmas without a gift. As in a family on Christmas day, all those who participate in the dinner that the Community prepares for the poor in many parts of the world, receive a gift with their own name on it, thought about and chosen according to their need and desire.

WOULD YOU, TOO, 
LIKE TO HELP?

Collection Centres
The Eco-Solidarity village

THE LOFT

This is an example of solidarity that does not throw away anything. The Loft is a marketplace opened by the Community in the premises attached to the Church of St. Callistus, in Rome in the Trastevere area, where one may find those objects that you would expect to find in an attic: old books, furniture and knick knacks, clothing, records, ethnic objects, odds and ends. Antiques, second-hand modern items, not brand new but attractive or handy, represent a deposit that nourishes an authentic "Portobello" in the centre of Rome.
All these things, sometimes useless or unnecessary, that would normally be thrown away, are cleaned and fixed and easily find amateurs who want to buy them.
That which is earned from the sale is used to support the activities of the Community among the poor.

The Loft in Rome, in Piazza San Calisto
Opening hours: Saturday 21-23 - Sunday 10.30-12.30