Make An Impact Association Onlus
On April 25 2010 five students of the University of Trento begin their path in the world of international solidarity: from their first experiences and thanks to the contributions of those who have joined their project, A completely new non-profit organization MAIA, Make An Impact Association was born on February 28 2012.
MAIA and its members are inspired by and promote the values of the Convention on the Rights of the Child of 1989, to which MAIA appeals every day as we are firmly convinced of the fundamental importance of the full development of the potential of children and young people around the world.
Everything starts from a deep and simple belief: the same "fortune" that any young Italian can boast, that is, to live in a safe place, to have access to education and to be able to do any recreational activity, that "fortune" should also be guaranteed to young people all around the world.
Convinced of this, since the very beginning volunteers of MAIA have focused their activities and projects where these rights are at risk: Palestine, and, within it, the city of Jenin; the occupied territories have always been a difficult land, where political, economic, food and energy crisis intersect.
Considering all the old and new issues afflicting this land, we often forget that those who pay in the long run are always the most vulnerable: children.
A child can not defend himself, he does not understand international politics and why he has to live days or weeks without water or electricity; a child should be able to walk around his city without needing to worry about gunshots, explosions or air strikes; a child has the inalienable right to be able to go to school, play with friends and grow without having to face every day the fear of the Other, without having to constantly watch one another's back.
In order to really contribute to change, good-willing itself is not enough, just as energy and time you invest in it.
The model of MAIA action was not born by chance, but is rather based on pragmatism in the management of cooperation; it is son of extensive studies and field experience: mindful of the errors of international cooperation occurred in the past years, MAIA volunteers carry out a cooperation that is free of the Western "liberation" paradigms; the targeted community of a specific project becomes an active partner with which MAIA implements an exchange in both directions; in so doing the cooperation project is never an end in itself but is presented as a constructive and enduring program.
With this know-how and through collaboration and shared experiences with local partner organizations, we identified the problems that plague most specifically the youth community in Jenin:
Following these studies and researches, MAIA Onlus elaborated in detail the projects that it has carried out in the past year, and those that are still ongoing. They define three main areas: sport as a space of aggregation and social inclusion of young people, assistance and aid for young disabled people and the use and dissemination of new forms of youth culture.
To know more about the history of MAIA onlus click here.
MAIA and its members are inspired by and promote the values of the Convention on the Rights of the Child of 1989, to which MAIA appeals every day as we are firmly convinced of the fundamental importance of the full development of the potential of children and young people around the world.
Everything starts from a deep and simple belief: the same "fortune" that any young Italian can boast, that is, to live in a safe place, to have access to education and to be able to do any recreational activity, that "fortune" should also be guaranteed to young people all around the world.
Convinced of this, since the very beginning volunteers of MAIA have focused their activities and projects where these rights are at risk: Palestine, and, within it, the city of Jenin; the occupied territories have always been a difficult land, where political, economic, food and energy crisis intersect.
Considering all the old and new issues afflicting this land, we often forget that those who pay in the long run are always the most vulnerable: children.
A child can not defend himself, he does not understand international politics and why he has to live days or weeks without water or electricity; a child should be able to walk around his city without needing to worry about gunshots, explosions or air strikes; a child has the inalienable right to be able to go to school, play with friends and grow without having to face every day the fear of the Other, without having to constantly watch one another's back.
In order to really contribute to change, good-willing itself is not enough, just as energy and time you invest in it.
The model of MAIA action was not born by chance, but is rather based on pragmatism in the management of cooperation; it is son of extensive studies and field experience: mindful of the errors of international cooperation occurred in the past years, MAIA volunteers carry out a cooperation that is free of the Western "liberation" paradigms; the targeted community of a specific project becomes an active partner with which MAIA implements an exchange in both directions; in so doing the cooperation project is never an end in itself but is presented as a constructive and enduring program.
With this know-how and through collaboration and shared experiences with local partner organizations, we identified the problems that plague most specifically the youth community in Jenin:
- lack of after school recreational and sport activities;
- very strong penalization of emerging artistic and cultural expressions;
- difficulties in creating healthy spaces where young people gather;
- absence of real and unfiltered exchange and sharing of information, experiences and ideas with the rest of the world;
- difficulties that become critical in cases of particular categories of weak groups of children;
Following these studies and researches, MAIA Onlus elaborated in detail the projects that it has carried out in the past year, and those that are still ongoing. They define three main areas: sport as a space of aggregation and social inclusion of young people, assistance and aid for young disabled people and the use and dissemination of new forms of youth culture.
To know more about the history of MAIA onlus click here.
Make An Impact Association Onlus – via Inama, 5, 38122 Trento - C.F. 02168080220
makeanimpact.info@gmail.com
makeanimpact.info@gmail.com
