This morning within the two days of initiatives “What future for San Basilio? Deciding it together is possible”, residents of the neighborhood, volunteers and associations that support the ten-year experience of the Olivella Territorial Committee, marched in procession to bring the requests of the territory to the city hall in view of the imminent renovation works that will involve the convent of San Basilio.
“The convent of San Basilio, which has hosted social, cultural and sporting activities for more than ten years, will be renovated with funds from the Institutional Development Contract, to create the house of cultures. A process imposed from above which risks canceling social, cultural and community activities in a space that was abandoned for a long time and which has come back to life thanks to the commitment of the inhabitants of the neighborhood and the volunteers of the Olivella Territorial Committee. We ask that the city institutions involve the territory in the choices and projects that concern the neighborhood and that the inhabitants have a role in the decisions that will transform the city in the coming years” declares Verdiana Mineo, instructor of the Palestra Popolare Palermo which finds space within the ‘former Convent. “Yesterday afternoon we organized a collective training with the sporting activities of our ASD under Palazzo delle Aquile, to show the municipal institutions that San Basilio is already a space of sport, care and culture. Today after the parade we will continue with a program full of musical and artistic initiatives.”
The testimony of Aurora, who frequents the committee:
“I started attending the Olivella Territorial Committee about two years ago. At first just to train at the popular gym and later also to participate in events, parties and various activities. In these difficult years for me, struggling with precarious jobs alternating with periods of unemployment, the center for m has been an important point of reference. The popular prices of the gym allowed me for the first time to give serious continuity to my sporting activity, thus overcoming the obstacles caused by economic difficulties. Furthermore, thanks to who manages the centre, for the first time I was able to organize an event to spread knowledge and experiences and raise funds for a topic very dear to me, Alzheimer’s research together with the popular clinic. Once again it was therefore an opportunity to create a sense of community on a topic that is actually common to many. I have lived in many cities over the years, knowing many social centers. However, in none of these cities have I been able to feel so welcomed and involved. It was important that in my region I was able to recover this sense of belonging within a reality that cares about collective rights and well-being.
I am grateful to those who gave me the opportunity to be part of it, especially to those who, even in my most difficult moments and when I struggled to be more involved, always made me feel that the door of the center remained open for me. Although work reasons will take me away again, I will never give less value to this experience of mine. I believe that those who are forced to leave their homeland to find new opportunities always carry within themselves the love for their origins. For this reason, wherever I find myself, I hope that upon my return I will find my Sicily always better than before and I hope to find the territorial committee again, where I have always found it, so that those who are part of it can continue to do everything he has done so far with commitment, energy and perseverance.”
Place: PALERMO
