In Northern Nigeria, an integrated model of crops, trees and livestock is transforming the lives of approximately 100,000 smallholder farming families.
At the EoC’s 35th anniversary gathering, regenerative agripreneur Andrew Kwasari shared how this methodology has brought measurable improvements to nature and communities.
He also explained how farming families are now working in cooperatives and promoting social inclusion.
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Putting ourselves in the shoes of those we perceive as distant and different helps us to understand their story and their struggles, but also the richness they bring with them. At the same time, to welcome means to open our heart to infinite possibilities, including that of being the first to receive abundant gifts and, without realising it, to become a “home” for someone.
At the station
I was sitting in the car in front of the station, waiting for the train to arrive with my daughter, when a man approached me and showed me his documents: he was a Palestinian who had fled the war.
From his halting Italian, I gathered that he was staying at Caritas and had come here to look for work as a bricklayer. However, he first needed to regularise his situation and for this he needed a revenue stamp and four photos. I listened to him and struggled to interact with him, but I didn’t respond to his request, although I said goodbye to him politely.
Meanwhile, the train was delayed. My eyes turned towards the Palestinian who was also waiting at the entrance to the station … for whom? Someone more charitable than me? Something inside urged me to go back to him, this time with the money for the necessary paperwork to be completed at the police station. As the train arrived, he kept thanking me warmly.
Thinking that we must always be ready to meet God, I concluded: so, it was really He who met me in that Palestinian man.
(Barbara – Italy)
Marius, Franz, Elke
I was a paediatrician and Ursula was a nurse in the same paediatric department of the hospital. In the early years of our marriage, we hardly noticed that we were not having children of our own, as we were focused on the little ones entrusted to our care. Until one morning, a three-month-old baby was admitted to our care. He had been born to a teenage mother who was unable to look after him.
After considerable reflection we applied to adopt him. The best time of our lives began. We used to go to work together, with little Marius in our arms and once at the hospital, we would put him in a pushchair where we could keep an eye on him while we worked. Two years later, a similar situation occurred involving another newborn for whom an adoptive family was being sought. So Franz joined Marius: they were very different from each other, as can also be the case with biological children. Two more years passed, and, again under similar circumstances, Elke joined us. First and foremost, they are children of God, but to us they also seem to be the fruit of our love and our work for everyone’s children.
After years of working as a domestic worker in family homes, Maria took part in PROFOR, the Program for Strengthening New Inclusive Businesses of Communion.
That was when she was able to transform her life and dedicate herself to her true passion: baking.
Today, with a formally registered business and 100% of her income coming from her own enterprise, she teaches other women in her community how to bake cakes, so that they too can discover that they are capable of building a more dignified life.
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One day, I went to the train station to pick someone up.The station is in a small town that doesn’t have a waiting room open at night, or anywhere to wait. When we got into the car, we saw a young woman alone with a bag who seemed disoriented, as if she were looking for something. She was alone and it was midnight. The train had already left. I got out of the car and went over to her to ask what she was looking for. She told me that she wasn’t sure if this was Junín or not. Junín is the next stop; she had got off at the wrong station. She was young. Her aunt was waiting for her in Junín, but she couldn’t come and pick her up because she didn’t have transport. The next morning, I had an appointment with the doctor in that very town and a solution came to mind. I asked her, “Would you like to spend the night at my house?” I’ll take you to your aunt’s tomorrow.” She agreed to this. So we went home, had dinner together and I made up a bed for her in the kitchen because I only have one bedroom. The next day we set off for Junín. During the journey, she told me that she hadn’t seen her aunt for four years, that it was the first time she had travelled alone and that she had taken a few days off work because her aunt was ill and she wanted to be there to help her. After leaving her with her aunt, I thought of the parable of the Good Samaritan. It felt like I had experienced it with her.
(Analia Maezo – Argentina)
Struggling but with a big heart
My husband and I are doctors and, having experienced poverty ourselves, we opened a clinic for the poorest people in our neighbourhood. One day, we only had 25 pesos left and there was still a week to go before we were paid. I tried not to worry, but I couldn’t see how we could make it to the end of the month with that amount. I had anxiously taken out 5 pesos for the bus to visit some friends, when a lady who was being treated by my husband knocked on the door. She was desperate; she and her children hadn’t eaten for three days. I immediately gave her what I had left, 20 pesos and then I set off. Later, the joy of seeing so many friends again made me forget all my worries. My husband was there too, having come straight from the hospital. While I was telling him about that woman, a friend approached with an envelope. It contained 500 pesos, a belated birthday present, collected by the friends involved in our solidarity initiative. We felt greatly relieved and felt that we are part of a big family – poor, but with a big heart.
(Reilita – Philippines)
Compiled by Maria Grazia Berretta
taken from The Gospel of the day, Città Nuova, year XII – no.5 –September-October 2026)
Every year, around 12 million people visit Sungsimdang bakery in Daejeon, South Korea.
What draws all these people there?
Beyond its delicious cakes and breads, at Sungsimdang, customers, partners, and employees also experience a culture of communion that inspires social and environmental initiatives.
· 79.2 fewer tons of carbon emissions each year through the recycling of milk cartons
· Production in partnership with local farmers
· Collaboration with universities in the region.
A true local ecosystem connecting production, education, and culture.
“If we had not discovered the Economy of Communion, perhaps we would have remained simply a ‘good and successful bakery.’”
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