For 15 Years, Together, for the Benefit of Children
Francesco Mastrorosa FMSI Project Administration Officer
In 2013 I had just finished my more than 40 years of professional experience in the service of the State when I had the opportunity to meet the Marist Brothers and their Foundation (FMSI). I immediately fell in love with them and realised that I could still make a contribution of my own for the good of children or, more generally, for the good of those most in need.
That is how I started working for FMSI, drawing on the knowledge and skills I had acquired in my previous working life. I became concerned about how to benefit Marist communities in need of support quickly and effectively.
During these years I have met Brothers and known unimaginable realities. I have touched the living conditions of people who are ‘content or would be content’ with restrictive living standards far removed from those we, the western world, ordinarily experience. FMSI, for reasons of priority only, turns its attention to children, to whom childhood is often denied. In line with the idea of the Founder (Marcellin Champagnat) and within the framework of solidarity initiatives, FMSI supports the neediest communities in terms of social promotion and raising the level of culture as the motor and foundation of authentic development.
Within the framework of FMSI’s responsibilities, I have also been fortunate to use my competencies to promote the design of infrastructures suitable for increasing educational capacities in our communities. This is how I have had the burden and the honour of seeing schools built in Madagascar, Haiti, Mozambique, Ghana, East Timor, Bangladesh, Lebanon, as well as the renovation or extension of existing educational infrastructures in many other Countries. These infrastructures are complemented by the commendable work of the Brothers present in each of the communities concerned, who with their charisma and sacrifice optimise the resources made available to them.
All of this success has been a great gratification for me, as I am able to perceive in a very obvious way, how someone, thanks to that infrastructure, will have a concrete chance of a better future.
Our wish is to be able to do more and more, also with your help!
