Altruism. Here is the first word that comes to mind when looking for a way to combine AVIS and the world of Paralympic sport: altruism. Which means thinking “to the other” whoever it is, which means holding out a hand when you realize that someone needs, which means not being alone. And it is no coincidence that AVIS is close – concretely, actively, really – to the World Series that next week will liven up the Bella Italia village in Lignano Sabbiadoro. “Altruism – says the provincial president Venice, Tito Livio Perissuti – is the right word. Altruism and, also, exchange. Because AVIS needs someone who gives blood but at the same time is able to donate blood in turn, and a disabled athlete needs special attention but at the same time is able to give a lot to those around him. Need and gift, in a continuous exchange of humanity”.
Do you know that the interview could also close here?
No, please: because I have so many other things to say.
For example?
That I would like to involve these wonderful athletes and make them aware of the issue of donation. They are sportsmen, great sportsmen: and “The sportsman gives blood” is one of the most effective and famous slogans used by AVIS. These children, almost all of them, can be blood donors: and they should become one: they would be an exceptional vehicle for a beautiful message.
Exceptional, why?
Spend half an hour in that pool, and just look at them for a while. And “goose bumps”. That’s why they are exceptional. Because they manage to teach that their apparent disadvantage is, in reality, a wonderful opportunity.
But what should be the message to pass?
The ability to look, to have an open view of the world around us, to respect our balance and to educate new generations for a better tomorrow. Not much would be enough, it would be enough to make it clear to children who find themselves in the classroom a disabled companion that that special companion is a reason for growth and not a nuisance to manage.
Do people give blood?
We are in a phase of decline that, unfortunately, is physiological if we consider the habits of life and the rules of the new generations: different from ours, irreconcilable with the rules that regulate blood donation. And I’m not judging, I’m not pointing the finger: in fact I talked about different habits. Suffice it to think of how young people today live, in total good faith, sexuality and how this prevents them from being donors.
And so?
So we must continue to work, raise awareness, inform: and broaden the base of potential donors ranging from 30 to 45 years, a band on which it is necessary and right to focus.
Go to Lignano, why …?
Because you get out of that pool richer than you entered it. And that’s enough.
Francesco Caielli