“That Little Gesture Moved Me.”

Nessuno Escluso’ – Nobody Left Behind: An EMERGENCY initiative to support some of the most vulnerable people in Italy who have been left in a precarious position due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s Saturday morning, which means an early start.

At eight o’clock things are already manic at the warehouse. We have to load up the vans with food packages for people around the city. Luckily there are a lot of us, and our human chain makes everything a lot less tiring.

We have a lunch break and I go to buy some focaccia for everyone. In the shop the lady behind the counter sees the writing on my T-shirt and she asks me: ‘What does ‘Nessuno Escluso’ mean?’

I tell her that it’s the name of our project which we started to get packages of food and basic goods to people who can’t make it on their own at the moment.

Just as I’m about to leave I realise she’s given me too much change. Before I even have time to tell her, she says: ‘It’s all right. Thank you for what you’re doing.’

That little gesture moved me.”

–        Cristian, EMERGENCY volunteer, Naples