“It starts
with a meal” This is the slogan that expresses the commitment of an eclectic
team that stands up against hunger in the world. The Italian organisation is at
the service of citizens and companies, focusing both on local social
responsibility projects and on programmes to support education and development
in different areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. For Fare Insieme, Giampaolo Colletti
interviews Alberto Albieri, president of Rise Against Hunger Italia
by Giampaolo Colletti
@gpcolletti
This story
starts from the future. Take note of the year. 2030. Yes, the goal is
ambitious, but feasible if we join forces. Because the message is clear: reach
2030 combating the global scourge that afflicts us and leads to other
emergencies. Of course, this story might start from the future, but it
originates in the past, thanks to painstaking work that takes time. Bear in
mind this important yet elusive word too. Time to listen. Time to try to make a
difference. Time to combat hunger with the commitment of a global community.
This is the story of Rise Against Hunger. And it starts way back, not only in
time, but also in space. Because this non-profit organisation was born in the
United States and then spread throughout the world. Italy included. It all
began in 1998 from a life-long dream that one day took shape. That's when Ray
Buchanan founded Stop Hunger Now and spread the idea of a world without hunger.
The headquarters in the United States was joined by other bases in South
Africa, Malaysia, India and the Philippines, giving way over time to Rise
Against Hunger. From the world to Italy. The local base in Italy opened in
2012. It was 2011 when a top manager long committed to social endeavours
arrived in the United States for an event. And had a eureka moment. He realised
the impact that activities of this kind could have and so, back in Italy, he
decided to work on recreating everything here too. He began looking for
partners and met Ray Buchanan and his Stop Hunger Now. It all started at that
point. “I remember with great affection our first event in Bologna in October
2012 like it was yesterday; 50 volunteers packed 6,000 meals with the
enthusiasm of setting the ball in motion and the conviction of being involved
in something important, something destined to last.” So says Alberto Albieri,
longtime manager and today head of Rise Against Hunger Italia, an organisation
at the service of citizens and companies, focused both on territorial social
responsibility projects and on programmes supporting education and development
throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.
Profile of
the association. The headquarters are in Bologna and the numbers are striking:
21,075,330 meals distributed to date. “We organise meal packing and kit packing
events. The volunteers taking part in a meal packing event assemble and pack a
few simple products to make thousands of food rations in a few hours for
children's schooling programmes in Africa. Taking part in a kit packing event,
instead, entails preparing kits of food containing the staples for communities,
families and individuals forced to live in situations of hardship and economic
instability due to wars, natural disasters and other humanitarian crises,” says
Albieri. In 2023, the organisation saw 11,124 people take part and Euro
2,610.938 in donations. Going back to the people, 78,682 volunteers have taken
part since Rise Against Hunger Italia began.
Social
challenges. “It starts with a meal” This is the slogan on which the fabric of a
commitment involving thousands of people is woven. The reference is to the UN's
Agenda 2030. “We work every day towards achieving a sustainable world and our
efforts fundamentally follow a five-point model: engagement, food security,
emergencies, education, empowerment. We start by engaging people because this
lies at the heart of everything we do. Taking part in events organised to
support our cause every year, thousands of people contribute by packing meals
and becoming agents of change. And hence our claim ‘It starts with a meal’”,
notes Albieri. The non-profit organisation is based on classic principles
shared by all entities that help others, but it adopts the mechanisms of a
for-profit company. An entrepreneurial approach applied to social commitment.
“This is a distinctive trait that can make the difference because certain
methods typical of a business model allow us to diversify our approaches and
ways of helping. We understand that hunger fuels exploitation, increases
inequality and cultivates injustice. The underlying assumption is that hunger
is the origin of all compromises: if you don't have enough to survive, you are
forced to accept anything to get by, especially if you have to provide for the
needs of a family,' says Albieri. The goal for the future is to talk to more
and more people who share the same values and ideals. “We have identified
school, sport and culture as the areas in which to develop shared values such
as solidarity, team spirit, teamwork, mutual aid and social commitment. These
are the roads we want to follow to achieve our #zerohunger goal and build a
fairer world,” Albieri concludes. After all, doing things right takes time and
commitment. Because it is about giving but, above all, it is about taking part.
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