April in ASCS: a month of meetings, discoveries and games to build bridges

The World at Home: ten years of music, art and flavors from around the world

April opened with important news for ASCS: the dates for the Il Mondo in Casa 2026 project, the cultural, folkloric and gastronomic evenings in the cloister of the Carmine Church in Milan, have come out. This year we are celebrating a special milestone: the 10th edition of the project.

For the occasion, we will call back to us people and friends from the countries of previous editions: it will be a great feast of “returns.” The four continents (Africa, America, Asia and Europe) will take turns each night to curate the welcome ritual, culture, dinner, music and parades, showing us that when the House is open, there is room for everyone.

The evenings will be held on Fridays: May 15 and 22, June 5, 12 and 19. For more information you can visit the dedicated page[click here]. We look forward to seeing you!

ConFine: weekends of service, training and sharing in Trieste and Como

In April a ConFine weekend was held in Trieste. With a group of twenty young people from all over Italy we were hosted in the convent of the Friars Minor. In addition to learning more about the history of Trieste as a border city, we were able to listen to people engaged in the struggle for the rights of people on the move, while also making our own contributions. We went to the Campo Sacro shelter, the Day Center and cooked dinner for the distribution. Every evening we shared that special atmosphere of friendship and meeting that is created in the station square, together with the volunteers of the Shadow Line Association.

Another weekend was held, however, in Como. It was a powerful, touching experience that brought a group of more than 20 young people face to face with the reality experienced by migrant people in the Como area and on Swiss soil. In fact, the situation for asylum seekers who settle in these areas continues to be extremely harsh. For this reason, the work on the ground of various associations and entities in the field of reception and social inclusion, such as the MSNA center in Como, the Swiss entities Fondazione Azione Posti Liberi, R-esistiamo collective and the Mendrisiotto Regione Aperta association, is very valuable. Special thanks to the Parish of Rebbio, which hosted us during these days, and to Don Giusto della Valle, a point of reference in the Como area.

A trip to the Balkans: our privilege of crossing borders

We set off for a week together with Revolt to the Balkans, a network monitoring and reporting on what is happening along the Balkan Route. During the trip we passed through some significant junctions of the route, between Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia, under the banner of meeting with solidarity presences active in these places in support of people on the move.

It was an enriching experience, especially for the people we met, who chose to take responsibility for institutional gaps by trying to fill them with their actions. The journey, however, made us even more aware of our privilege.

The integral welcome at Casa Scalabrini 634: amid soccer games, intercultural dinners and book presentations

Also in April, the activities of Casa Scalabrini 634 never stopped. As we do every month, we dedicated ourselves to cleaning the neighborhood together with the AUR (American University of Rome): a project that allows the boys of the House to be active citizens within the neighborhood where they currently live. At the end of the event volunteers, friends of the house, resident boys and AUR students stopped by for the first outdoor lunch of the season!

In fact, the beautiful season also allowed us to organize a game of soccer, a time of sharing together with boys, volunteers and participants in the training courses we hold at Casa Scalabrini.

Sports are always a great tool for social cohesion. The same is also true for music, as we got to see during the Scalamusic Academy in collaboration with the Holy Redeemer Parish in Rome.

In addition to sports, cleaning and music, Casa Scalabrini hosted a cross-cultural dinner with the family group and resident youth. This is also an opportunity to strengthen friendships and bonds with the volunteer couples who help us in making this place more and more Home.

Together with Marco Marcocci we experienced a training session on personal finance and with the University of Tor Vergata we organized a cultural event on the occasion of the international anniversary dedicated to the night for geography. During the evening we hosted over 40 people, delving into the links between geography and migration. Finally, a book presentation was held by Karima 2G, a second-generation Italian girl with Lebanese origins.

Some boys and girls from the Agesci Civitavecchia 3 clan came to visit us and helped us in taking care of our House. Thank you for the nice opportunity to meet!

Milan: when music, dance and Self Mutual Aid become tools for reflection

Not only in Rome, but also in Milan our April activities were many:

• Scalamusic Let’s Play Interculture.: a workshop with women in which through acting, dancing and singing they worked on women’s empowerment;
• Scalamusic youth: we did theatrical and trust exercises/games, learned the song “Love Never Says Enough” and danced to it, reasoning together about what it means for each of us to trespass and how together it often becomes possible to try to go beyond one’s limits;
• Hummingbird Group: every Tuesday in April we met to address various women’s issues as part of the Wasi project;
• Self Mutual Help Group: two meetings in April on experiences and tools for managing work life, again in collaboration with Wasi.

Crossover: migration explained well

Two training opportunities were held in Turin and Chieri.

• in Turin, we explored the topic of mental health support for migrant people with Elizete Da Silva Moreira, a psychologist from ASCS’s Wasi Project, in collaboration with Migrant Pastoral Care;
• in Chieri we talked about Iran, the protests and the role of Iranian people who have emigrated together with a family of Iranian descent.

Intercultural animation: role-playing games

In April we also met with some school classes in Padua, as part of the Windows Plus Project with Popoli Insieme, and played the role-playing games Backway and The Game.

Men or Corporals: ASCS in the theater

In April we returned to the theater with Men or Corporals, an intense and engaging monologue that recounts the reality of corporalism and exploitation through the story of Jasnoor, a young laborer from Punjab, from his journey from India to his exploitation in Italian fields.

Francesco Stella, performer as well as author, guided by director Nicola Pistoia, took the stage twice this month: in Forlì, in the San Luigi hall, and in Padua, in the Lux cinema (in collaboration with Popoli Insieme).

Men or Corporals is a powerful and timely show that shakes consciences and illuminates a reality that is too often invisible. If you would like to bring Men or Corporals to your city, please visit our page: men or corporals.

Your 5×1000 to ASCS

Imagine being sick and having no words to say it. Wasi is the ASCS project that offers free psychological support for migrant women in Italy with native-speaking psychologists. Because speaking in one’s own language is not a detail: it is the bridge that makes healing possible.

With your signature you build bridges. ASCS Tax Code: 03133600241

Learn how your signature turns your tax return into a gesture of welcome and integration. Read some stories from the Wasi project.