Aisha presented: the mascot of the Ospedale del Cuore Monasterio in Massa

A morning of great celebration today at the Ospedale del Cuore which presented Aisha, a cheerful little blue monkey who has become a mascot for the little patients. And she did it with a truly special friend, the actress, screenwriter and director Paola Cortellesi. The artist, 19 nominations for the David di Donatello, with his film There’s still tomorrow, he “embraced” all the children present, the young patients and the entire Monastery with an emotional greeting video. It is also thanks to the great commitment and generosity of Paola Cortellesi, in fact, that Aisha became the mascot of the Ospedale del Cuore. And much more: a project to support Monasterio, the young patients and their families. Since this morning a large colored sculpture of the monkey, with its inevitable little heart Bumbùm, welcomes boys and girls in the hospital garden and every space intended for the little ones has become the place of Aisha’s adventures. The little monkey, protagonist of the book “All the stories of Aisha”, is the result of the creativity of Sandra von Borries, writer and mother of Paola, a little girl born with a “mischievous” heart and treated at the Ospedale del Cuore. Paola is now grown up and Aisha has grown up with her, thanks to Sandra’s passion and the collaboration of an exceptional friend, Paola Cortellesi, who fell in love with Aisha and the project to support our hospital: the actress has, in fact, , wanted to donate his voice by reading Aisha’s stories and singing songs. A project that also counts on the collaboration of Frank EspinosaAmerican animator and cartoonist who worked for a long time for Walt Disney and was Art Director of Warner Bros, and the musician Enrico Andreini who composed the music for Aisha’s songs. It was Sandra von Borries this morning, with the General Director of Monasterio Marco Torrein the presence of local authorities and many children, to present the mascot and its history.

“It’s difficult – says Sandra – explain the hospital, the illness and the surgery to a 3 year old girl, if not through a good dose of imagination. This is why I wrote Aisha’s adventurous stories: to help my daughter and, with her, the hospitalized boys and girls and their families. But also to say thank you to all the staff of the Ospedale del Cuore for their extraordinary work and great human commitment”. “Today is truly a day of celebration for us, we are happy – declares the General Director Marco Torre – to share it with many people and many children. I thank Sandra infinitely for giving us splendid stories and a fantastic mascot and I thank Paola Cortellesi for the video she dedicated to us, her commitment to supporting Aisha’s project and her words of friendship are a great source of pride for us. Thanks and thanks again. The humanization of care – Torre continued – is a constant commitment of Monasterio. It is essential that our patients feel welcomed and experience, as much as possible, a familiar environment. Even more important when we talk about children. Aisha will be a special friend for our little patients, just as Sandra von Borries and Paola Cortellesi are special friends for us.”

This morning, at the end of the event, a large Aisha, with its Bumbùm heart, was inaugurated in the garden in front of the hospital: it was done by the young pupils of the first classes of the school in Cervara di Massa (Staffetti Comprehensive Institute). The children, with the musical accompaniment of the Sax quartet of the “F.Palma” high school directed by the teachers Francesca Corsi And Stefano Angeloni, unveiled the sculpture and donated their drawings of Aisha and her little heart to the hospital. The creations of the children of Cervara, together with those of many other boys and girls, will contribute to the creation of an installation designed and created by the Young Architects of Mass (Gams).

Since this morning, Aisha has therefore been living at the Ospedale del Cuore in Massa: every space dedicated to children portrays her adventures. With her there are many friends: Princess Aidàn, a narrative transposition of the doctor Nadia AssantaDirector of the Childhood Cardiac Pathologies Unit, the monkey Nobur, transposition, instead, of Dr Bruno Murzi, historic director of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, the fairy nurse. They are the ones who help the cold heart of the little monkey and all the children in a ward that has become the City of Hearts.