Giovanni and his moments of happiness | Sport for All

Giovanni and his ‘new’ great team!

Giovanni is a 14 year old boy with a medium level intellectual disability who lives at home with his mother who takes care of him. However, his mother doesn’t have much time for herself, she can’t dedicate herself to a full-time job and she can’t pursue her hobbies because she dedicates most of her life to taking care of her son Giovanni.

She is a very cheerful person who never gives up, never asks for help even when she really needs it, but finally she meets us, and everything changes. We become her point of reference.

When she takes Giovanni to the activities she crosses the city on foot, she always arrives very tired but happy to accompany him because she sees the boy happy and enthusiastic to participate. Giovanni always arrives at the field with a smile on his face, looking forward to taking the ball in his hands.

But it wasn’t like that from the start: last year he wasn’t a very sociable boy, when he arrived at the field he didn’t speak to anyone, the few words he was able to exchange with his peers were related to the possession of the ball. Now, as soon as he arrives at the field, he asks his friends how they are, he begins to socialise with the whole group, and this is certainly one of the most achieved goals.

Participating in the “Sport for All” project, fielded with the support of Fondazione Milan has allowed him to meet his peers in a different context from school, and above all to feel happy and fulfilled in feeling included by others and to be able to socialise with them through sport.

Do you want to support Giovanni? With a donation, you can extend the Sport for All project to many other young people and thus promote access to and support of sports practice in inclusive contexts for young people with disabilities.