Migrants. IKEA reaches out to the Waldensian Casa Vittoria in Sicily

A gesture of solidarity towards the unaccompanied migrant children arrived from the Mediterranean Sea and hosted by the Waldensians

Alcune ospiti accolte dalla Casa delle culture di Scicli (RG), gestita dal progetto FCEI - Mediterranean Hope

 

Rome (NEV), March 28, 2017 – Beds, night-tables, wardrobes, desks, sofas, benches. These are just some of the items IKEA will donate in the coming weeks to the “Casa Evangelica Valdese” of Vittoria (Southern Sicily), a “historical” church structure which since last July, the Waldensian Diaconia uses for a specific hosting project to the benefit of unaccompanied migrants children coming from the so-called ‘high-risk countries’. It is not the first time that the Swedish company supports social projects. This year the priority went to the migratory emergency. Andrea Gentile, migrant service coordinator of the Waldensian House, expressed his satisfaction for the recognition of the project as worthy and most of all for the children they host, who for the great majority are bodies and souls torn apart by violence and more than anyone else need to find a safe and welcoming place.

To benefit of the initiative also two other hosting projects organized by the Municipality of Lampedusa and by UNICEF.

As a home for elderly people the ‘Casa Evangelica Valdese’ exists since 1933. Since 2013 the facility is also used for the very first reception of adult migrants registered at the hotspot of Pozzallo.