Open projects for communities. With the poor and space for youth

The eight projects per thousand of Caritas Italia in 2023 amounted to 430 projects with a funding of almost 28 million euros. The areas are the usual ones, from living to support for canteens and shops, from vocational training and employment to care, accompaniment and listening. “But the novelty – explains Marcello Pietrobon, coordinator of the administrative unit and head of the planning service of Caritas Italia in Italy – was to try to direct all the projects in a vital way.”

what does that mean?
It has always been like that, but we have to ask ourselves what impact it has, how what Caritas does in the regions changes communities. In short, we have to understand what service means, otherwise it remains charity. So we started by looking at projects, and we asked the diocesan Caritas to think about this, to see how the community takes care of the classic canteens, shops and low-level services.

Are there any Caritas animation projects?
It is a cross-sectional view. It is necessary to evaluate how services are provided to the poor through communities and not as a social service. Caritas is responsible by law for promoting charitable works.

But how is the impact of a Caritas project on society evaluated?
This year, an academic team from Sant’Anna di Pisa is helping us with the evaluation to understand how we can measure the change in society through a specific project. Obviously, it can be measured in the long term, not at the time of implementation. So let’s try to include some elements in the reflection: first, whether the project is created for the poor or with the poor; according to how the communities accompany the paths. Our measure is not a numerical one because the logic of Caritas is not to increase services, but to reduce them not because of indifference, but because the problem has been solved or taken care of by the community and public bodies. The intersection is the authentic value because it highlights the vitality of the projects,

How many have been evaluated?
A third report said there were 11,000 volunteers, more than 700 regional partners, 1,400 church entities or 600 regional associations and organizations involved. For us, this is what animation means. In these 150 projects, 48,000 people received food, but the most important thing is who donated it. Mediating the intervention by making the poor the protagonists and involving the local community is actually more tiring, but sitting at the table and listening also helps to understand new needs. Those who only increase services may do it better than us, but they often do not listen.

Is youth participation in projects also evaluated?
Yes, but not necessarily for immediate volunteering, because they may need work right now or they can’t commit right away. But you can measure the proposal in their DNA. And maybe they will be volunteers in 20 years. Then we have to be able to get to the basics, otherwise people risk following what interests them most. If the answers don’t convey the style and meaning of what you do, which is the core of the gospel message, then we risk not being followed anymore.