In Portugal: What Makes the Difference
Do you want to know what makes the difference in life? Basing it on living the Word. This is what the gathering was all about, which brought together 700 youths, many of them very young, from all over Portugal, at Our Lady of Boa Nova, a few kilometers outside Lisbon. 
Some arrived the day before from the Azores Islands and Madeira. The faces of those who got off the buses coming from the north were weary and sun-burnt following the four or five hour-long journey. But at eleven o’clock when the doors of the auditorium were opened, the meeting hall was quickly filled with a very lively and attentive audience. Everyone was “in sync” as the opening song proclaimed. Those who had invited them and had prepared the program filled with singing, choreography, testimonies and reflections, had worked for months on end, during one of the busiest periods at most universities her in Portugal when exams are in full swing. And here is another reason why this auditorium of 700 youths was rather extraordinary. Some of them would have to face exams in the coming days, and some had postponed their exams in order to attend at the event. 
Along with the band, there was also a large sign on stage with the letters: ID GEN. In an era of text messages and twitter, only a few letters are required in order to be understood. These five letters tell of a whole program, and not only that of one day: “ID GEN” (Identity Gen) that is, the life and the ideals of the Gen, the youths of the Focolare Movement who were the animators of the day’s event. The sharings of Joao, Adrian, Tiago, Rita, Violeta, Antonio, Ana, Ricardo and Joana give a taste of what it is like to live the Gospel in the different situations of life. One of them was able to go beyond injustice at the university. One tried to not let himself be swept away by the competition of the work world. One realized that changes in relationships had to begin with giving up some of one’s own comforts. And these were all effects of love. Violeta told of the time she spent studying in Barcelona where she was living an experience with 18 young women of different nationalities. One of the young women was from Egypt and she was Muslim. Her customs were not always understood by the others in the group, but for Violet loving meant not only respecting such customs. “This was the least I could do. I remembered that Gospel passage which says to do to others as we would want them to do to us,” and so she did not leave her friend by herself in certain situations as the others were doing. And these did not remain isolated gestures for very long. Soon, two, three and then other classmates were doing the same. A more united and fraternal world could begin even from here. 
The love they were talking about was a love that meant getting your hands dirty. And this was literally the case for Tiago who was invited by a priest to volunteer in helping people who were living in the streets. It was difficult at first to shake their smelly hands, to wash the silverware they had used, to clean the washrooms at the center where they took turns bathing. Here again it was the Gospel that helped: “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.” And not only did it improve the situation of the people who had rediscovered their human dignity, but also Tiago could affirm that after five months with them: “I could look at them as ‘professors’ who had taught me how to love, to enlarge my heart.” Love even when suffering comes knocking Ana Filipa explains while telling of her experience with two brothers with muscular dystrophy. Her experience was shared by other Gen from her city up until the death of one of her brothers. Ricardo attests to the truth of Ana’s experience using the words of Chiara Lubich in 2000: “Once embraced, even the greatest suffering leaves nothing but love in our heart.” 
And so what has been called “a futureless generation,” faced today with so many uncertainties, can find a way out through this greater love. Although a more united world is still a distant goal for many, it is within the reach of those who love. Ask Joana, who ever since she was a child wanted to change the world, and now she does it by living the Gospel as she does her work in Parliament. The president of the Focolare, Maria Voce, did not want to be absent from the event and so she delivered a video message to the group: “Today you heard talk of a dream, a great dream,” she said, “a united world. And you were presented with a way for achieving this, a lifestyle based on a revolution, the revolution of Gospel love. […] Now you clearly see the way to follow, the way to be taken with courage, without hesitation.” If “the dream is great,” then the way will not be easy nor without obstacles. Nevertheless, it will be “thrilling,” Maria Voce assures the young people, “and it guarantees a happiness that no other human experience, no matter how beautiful, no matter how rich, no matter how great, can match.” And besides, this revolution is “guaranteed to succeed” because it is founded not on us, it is founded on the Word of God.” This is what makes the difference in the life of a Gen, of a youth. And not only! The day concluded with a telephonic link-up, via internet, between the youths and Maria Voce in which she made an appointment with them for the upcoming Genfest in Budapest, on 20 August – 2 September 2011.
by Aurora Nicosia
Despite their change of fortune due to war and the departure of the missionaries they had remained united. We went to visit them, travelling across the river in a dugout canoe. We found a very vibrant community that meets together every week and shares the life of the Word. And they had many experiences to tell. For example, they walked kilometers to visit a sick person and care for him; together with other communities, they take turns caring for orphans. . . Their example has drawn others and brought about conversions. They know the story of 
With the transfer of two focolare families to Kikwit for the province of Bandundu, and to Goma for the Northern province and Sudkivu, it was possible to respond to the needs of the great family of Chiara in this vast region.
With its project Petite Flamme, 
The first objective was to offer academic instruction, but it immediately became obvious that the children were suffering malnutrition. They began to provide one meal a day and medical care. In the years that followed, Petite Flamme opened new centers, expanded the school year and extended its services to pre-teens, teens and to families. In 2002 they began “after school under the tree,” sixteen classes beneath sixteen different trees, since there was no school building. The project is supported by various entities and NGO’s, and especially by “Support at a distance” from the Action for New Families (AFN). All of the children receive an educational program, daily food and regular medical care. Once they are enrolled in secondary school, the teens become part of a support program. 
They are located in the very populated quarters or on the outskirts of Kinshasa where there is extreme poverty. Recently two new schools opened: in Idiofa, Bandundu, 750 km from Kinshasa; and in Kisantu, in Bas-Kongo, 160 km from Kinshasa. In Bandundu, Petite Flamme also operates in a poor rural environment. Due to the lack of water, a large cistern and two water tanks were built to collect rain water for the preparation of food each day. The project is supported by various entities and NGO’s, and especially by “Support at a distance” from the Action for New Families (AFN). All of the children receive an educational program, daily food and regular medical care. Once they are enrolled in secondary school, the teens become part of a support program. 2005. “Moyi Mwa Ntongo” Medical Center was opened for AIDS prevention, a malady which is widespread in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “Moyi Mwa Ntongo,” which in the local language means “The Morning Dawn,” was opened in 2005 in Limete, a downtown quarter of Kinshasa. It is sustained by Action for a United World (AMU). It offers quality service at accessible prices, not only for the children of “Petite Flamme,” but for anyone suffering with sickness, and it cooperates with local entities. 
Aside from medical research, the center is also equipped with an analysis laboratory, a pharmacy and a day hospital with fifteen beds. One of its strong points is the ophthalmology surgery, the most advanced in the region, important in the treatment and prevention of blindness, which is very prevalent in this region. There are many other projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for spreading the values of universal brotherhood through concrete action, like the ones carried out by members of the Focolare Movement in Goma (the province of North-Kivu) in the field of agriculture, in micro-credit and in education. [nggallery id=85]
“Together with personalities from the world of politics and culture, we were 9000, glued to our seats-the Gen Verde write to us at the conclusion of the event-in front of the images of the holocaust in the concentration camps. On the 26th January, at Florence, at the Nelson Mandela Forum, from a bare stage, testimonies were given by persons who survived the Shoah.” They were open wounds, like those that are today still victims of genocide, violence, and discrimination. 
Thus, with the title of the meeting “We, sons and daughters of Eichmann?” the organisers sought to make us ask ourselves “could this happen again?” This was the fifth edition, and this initiative was aimed at the students of the superior institutes of all the Tuscan provinces, and was held on the eve of the day of Remembrance, the 27th January, a date that is remembered contemporaneously in many European countries. Recently, even the city of Florence was the scene of episodes of ethnic intolerance, and for this reason the President of the region, stressed and asked those present to commit themselves, by beginning for example, to banish from our common language expressions that are offensive towards cultures and peoples that are different from us. The Gen Verde, in collaboration with a multi-ethnic orchestra from Arezzo, was entrusted with the conclusion of the event with songs and choreographies to bear witness that the dimension of reciprocity and exchange of diverse cultures is possible. And the attention of the youths who in silence and with respect received every intervention makes us hope that we can say with force “never again.” In Spring, new horizons await the Gen Verde: the first is Spain, where the group will be on a tour from the end of March up to the middle May, touching down on, amongst others, the cities of Jerez, Granada and Jaen- while other stops are being confirmed- with the show “Maria”. For information: www.genverde.it
This was the experience of some students and teachers at a secondary grammar school in Sarcelles, a well known Paris suburb. One day at school two foreign girls were engaged in a very violent argument. It was 28 September 2007. What to do? Lower your head and walk away? Pierre Benoit, the Italian teacher, decided to intervene. He proposed a new method, the method of brotherhood. He explained to his students: Each morning you throw a die, the brotherhood cube. Each of its six sides has a different phrase. For example: “Consider every man as a brother, and every woman a sister,” “See the other in a positive way,” “Take the first step toward the other,” “Reach out to your enemy,” “Understand the other” and “The other also sees me as a brother or sister.” Each day that you throw the die, you have a new proposal that you can put in practice. Then at the end of the week, you share how it went.
The teacher’s proposal was inspired by the “
Soon these experiences were featured in short films that were made by the students themselves. They tell the stories of how a reconciling word was able to destroy a cycle of enmity and violence. That same year, in 2007, a festival was planned. It was entitled “Brotherhood in the School, Brotherhood in the City”. More than 250 people participated, including three Mayors.
A year later an association was founded called “
So far in all, 600 youths have participated. After the introductory phase, developed through the analysis of both Italian and foreign spots and publicity campaigns, the project was continued with two investigative workshops: on the use of the female image in publicity (with psychologist Anna Granata and anthropologist Anna Casella) and on the influence of fashion on the behaviour of youths (with ballerina Liliana Cosi and psychologist Ezio Aceti). 
In the fourth round, Raffaele Cardelli, publicist and expert in communication, and member of 
With this appointment, the project “Spot, we are recording!” has reached the halfway stage: from the technical analysis, the youths will go on, in the coming months, to pin pointing a real publicity campaign centred round social issues that are of particular relevance in their city (dependencies; man-woman relations; multiculturalism) that will be analysed, in confrontation with various spokespersons, also with representatives of the institutions and the local media. Then for each of the themes a spot will be made that evokes fraternity and that will constitute the conclusive message of the project offered to the citizens by the 
When she referred to ecumenical dialogue, 
Note: the attachment containing the survey on the EoC’s “Identity and Future” was done by Simona Di Ciaccio during the International Assembly last May 2011 in Brazil. The report is available online in italian, we invite you to 
‘We’re sending you a handful of comments about our trip to Sardinia at the end of 2011,’ Tomek Mikusiński has written to 
‘sneak previews’: ‘In parallel we’re finishing off a new musical and we hope that this too will be on release by the end of 2012 or the beginning of 2013…’ After 14 March when this period of what Gen Rosso calls ‘working from home’ comes to an end, the band will leave for Spain, for a full two months, after which they will go on tours of different lengths in three continents: Europe (with concerts in the Czech Republic, Belgium and Germany), China and Australia. But now let’s take a step back in time to the final concert last year. It was at Villacidro (50 km from Cagliari in Sardinia). Here on 29 December 2011 Gen Rosso presented their concert Indelible Dimension. It was during the XXVth March for Peace, which took place in the light of recent troubles in Nigeria and Syria, events that show how much the search for peace needs a powerful helping hand. 
The theme of the march was Educating Young people in Justice and Peace, given by Benedict XVI to the World Day of Peace on 1 January 2012. Two thousand people were at the concert, in a wholesale warehouse, which concluded the march. ‘The scene was pretty unusual because of the artist performance (and not a few technical problems),’ Gen Rosso said, ‘but the warmth and enthusiasm of the young Sardinians made us forget any difficulties straight away.’ ‘A different world is possible, a different humanity already exists… THANKS with all my heart!’ wrote one person after the concert. In the town’s industrial zone on the following day, 30 December, there was a day of reflection and commitment for Sardinian young people. Youth for a United World led it together with Gen Rosso who ran workshops with people from every part of Sardinia. ‘Thank you Gen Rosso – thank you guys!!! Amazing concert….. a big thank you on behalf of all the Sardinian people…. a thank you that goes on forever!!!!!!!’
‘A big hello from Bulgaria!! We want to tell you how our preparations for Genfest are going. When we heard that the title was “Let’s bridge” we asked ourselves what can we do, here in Sofia, to build bridges? We remembered the refugees coming in especially from Arabic countries. Mostly they are Muslims, some haven’t been here long, others have been here for years. Sadly, though, a lot of them have very few contacts outside their own group. 
A friend of ours, a girl who fled Iraq and is now working in the committee for women refugees, told us they wanted to get to know our culture better and even to find out about the traditional Bulgarian ‘Tree Festival’. We met together on 10 December. There were 30 people, 20 of them refugees, for the most part from Iraq, but also from the Lebanon, Libya and Afghanistan. The programme presented our Christmas traditions, including traditional food. We began with a game to introduce ourselves: a ball of wool was unravelled from one person to another and whoever held it had to say something about themselves: name, place of birth… just enough to break the ice and start building a relationship among everyone. 
Then there were moments for reflection, a children’s fable illustrated by folk customs from various lands at this time of year. The refugees felt loved and were moved by everything that had been done for them and they kept on saying thank you. 
At the end one girl wrote: ‘Even though in Iraq eggs are painted for New Year and in Bulgaria we do it for Easter, and even though there other differences of customs and festivals, we all felt that there is something that works with the same strength and the same light everywhere in the world: love. Our love for one another, for someone you’ve know for years, with all their shortcomings, and for someone who you’ve just met, who you don’t know yet, but in whose eyes, despite everything, you can see Jesus.’ The meeting finished with delicious dishes from all over the world, with storytelling, smiles and thanks. Let’s hope we managed to make these people we care about feel welcome and at home.’ From Youth for a United World, Bulgaria
“I love to be among children because they are the ones who have best interpreted my ideal!”, 
Children are often bombarded by messages that are counter-educational and that do not respect their age. How can we offer them a formation that is both human and Christian? Difficult situations are lived within the family, causing loss of trust in adults and consequently in God: how do we make them experience the love of God? These were some of the questions they reflected upon during the week long course of formation. “Our method of transmission starts with ourselves,” the organisers summed up, “by being the first to put the Gospel into practice.” 
There was a lot of discussion and exchange of experiences and the program included in-depth studies on psycho-pedagogical themes in the light of the collective spirituality, the rights and protection of children, group workshops and plenary dialogue. Everything was done with great dedication towards children and their formation and there was renewed effort and commitment among the participants to work to this end. An experience was shared by participants from Egypt: “The Gen 4 saw the older children of the Focolare carrying out initiatives for our city, Cairo, and they wanted to do something as well. ‘Why not bring peace and joy?’ we said to each other. We bought flowers to offer the passersby. Before going out on the streets, the Gen 4 boys and girls thought of the phrases they would say while they distributed the flowers: “If you love Egypt, when you eat sweets don’t throw the wrapper away on the ground”,and similar phrases. Many – both Christians and Moslems – were amazed at this. A street sweeper exclaimed: “A flower for me?” “Yes,” said the Gen 4 because we want to love you.” And he, visibly moved, replied: “It’s the first time that someone has given me a flower.” A story from Brazil was recounted: Christina, a Gen4 girl, suffers from an illness that can provoke heart failure. After a very serious heart attack this summer she was at risk of losing her life. The doctors had to carry out numerous tests. Christina was peaceful throughout, because having heard the story of Chiara Luce Badano, she was not afraid of undergoing tests and treatments. A doctor said to her: “Did you know you were very close to the door of Paradise?” Christina replied: “Yes, but I did not go in because my backpack wasn’t yet filled with enough acts of love.” On hearing this, the doctor wanted to know more about her life. These were some of the experiences shared during the week of work at the service of the new generations. The formation course was both complex and delicate, and it was done in collaboration with families and experts in different fields, however we are all summoned to do our part as educators.
It could be said that 21 February 1966 is the date of the beginning of the Focolare Movement in Portugal. This was the day when two young Brazilian women arrived in Lisbon to open a focolare house. Chiara Lubich herself had wanted it in Lisbon so as to have a place of welcome for the first focolarini who were leaving from or arriving in Europe, because at that time many flights from South America stopped off there. In 1967 the some men arrived in the city as well, opening a second focolare house.
Today throughout the country (and its islands) the Movement has more than 2000 members and thousands of sympathizers adhering to its spirituality, ten focolare houses in Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra and Faro and, at 50 km from Lisbon, the little town of Arco-iris which is the living heart of the Movement in Portugal.
There are about 50 inhabitants: adults, families, young people, children and a priest who the Cardinal has also made the parish priest of Abrigada. It is in constant development and encourages the growth of the spirituality of unity through practical experience of the gospel lived. A moment of outreach that goes beyond the members of the Focolare and appeals, most especially, to young people is the gathering of youth every 1 May for a day of sharing and celebration. The little town is a privileged space for dialogue with civil society and with people of every conviction and culture.
In 2011, 250 young people have been helped at every level of their education, from elementary schools up to specialised post university courses, in 14 countries around the world: Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Lebanon, Philippines, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. Allowing young people to study and train professionally is without doubt an investment for the future. The experience of Action for a United World and the 
They write for example from Cebu, in the Philippines: “Every Saturday, some students go to our social centre to do tutoring to others that are younger: the students at university help those of the secondary school, and the students at the secondary school help those at the primary school that are in difficulty. In their free time they also help with the various social programmes of the centre, cleaning the premises, feeding the smaller ones, distributing scholastic materials at the beginning of the year.” And from Brazil: “I am 20 years old, and I have 3 brothers, one of them has a physical disability. This makes us live more united as a family and helps us grow in facing life with simplicity and openness towards the needs of others. At the beginning of this year I understood that I could live the Gospel in a more radical way, both at university and during my free time, and this would make a difference in my life. How could I put this decision into practice? I got the idea of dedicating myself to voluntary work, because in this way I would be able to participate in the reciprocity typical of the Economy of Communion, through which I receive my scholarship, and “in exchange” give my free time to other persons in need. So I began to work in a home for the elderly that has more than 50 inmates. I carry out activities with them to improve their quality of life. I set myself the objective not to look at them as “aged” in general, but to get to know each one with her life history, her family, to understand what they really desire.” 
“I attend the nursing school at the University of Para’. The profession I have chosen is an opportunity to be of service to others. Sometimes I find myself in situations where I risk contagion, but I try to intervene always in favour of those who are in need. Once I was given the responsibility to care for a person who had committed crimes. For me this was simply a person who needed care. My attitude drew the attention of my colleagues who reflected on the behaviour that is required from our profession.” 
«“I am aware that the objectives of the Economy of Communion, besides helping persons in difficulties, is also “the formation of new men and women”, so I try to be a sign of communion between my student friends, by circulating between us the knowledge and experience of each one of us. I do not own my books, and I try to leave in a good state the learning material that has been given to me for my use. But others do not have the possibility of buying, not even the hand outs, so I share this material with them. This is what I can do so that others can study. I feel that the achievements made by my study do not belong only to me, but to all those who collaborate in the project.”
“I was studying for a history test in class and I could not concentrate; there were many pages and I was thinking that it would be difficult to succeed in covering them all. To make the situation worse, I get an sms from some friends who ask me for help with a mathematics test. I reread the message, think about all the history pages and almost answer that I cannot help them. After some seconds however something within me tells me that I am losing an opportunity to love friends who are in difficulty. Instinctively I had put myself in the first place, without thinking about how important it is to help the others. I close my book, and hurry to the house of one of them where they were gathered. I involve myself and help them until late in the evening. When I return home, there is no more time to study history, now how would I carry out the test? I trust everything to God, believing that He would find a solution. On the morrow, some companions ask the teacher whether she can postpone the test; evidently I was not the only one who had not studied. The teacher, who is usually intransigent, decides to postpone the test. Simply luck? I do not believe so! I think rather that God in His providence has rewarded the act of trust done the previous evening.” (S. G. –Italy)
History and prophecy, the two eyes with which humanity contemplates its scene in the drama: one looks to the past and the other to the future, so that it can regulate the present. You could say that prophecy is God’s view and history is man’s. Thus history is an epitaph of the fallen and prophecy the longing for freedom from death and new life, a longing for peace. And Christ came. And over his cradle, in the mists of time, the angels sang: “Glory to God in the highest and peace to men on earth.” What is glory for the Lord God in Heaven is peace for men on earth: Peace is the glory of men; glory is the peace of God. Now Christ indicates peace. “Christ is our peace. . . peacemaker,” come “to bear the good announcement of peace,” as Paul says to the Romans, who were a people of war. His revolution centers on the discovery of the brother, made by the light of charity, and peace is the fruit of charity. His law is forgiveness, and forgiveness replaces the impulses of war. War denounces, in those who promote it, a practical atheism, a rebellion against God. One of the Gospel beatitudes sings: “Blessed are the peacemakers, because they will be called the sons of God.” Peacemakers are makers of peace. For peace must be made, it is produced and it is the most precious product of human civilization. The Christian is a producer of peace that reconstructs the fabric of time indefinitely. He continually reconstructs life, “making war” on war, as Pius XII says, in order to combat his enemy which is death.. But there is peace and there is peace. . One is life and the other is death. “My peace I leave with you,” Jesus says, “I give you my peace, not the peace that the world gives.” The world’s peace is imposed by war; Christ’s peace is the gift of love. In this respect, both – peace and war – spring from the heart of each one of us. Too many of the world’s peoples still continue to repeat with the prophets: “We wait for peace and we do not have it; we await the hour of healing and remedy for the ills we have suffered, and behold: new tumors and disturbances are appearing; we wait for the light, and look at us still in darkness. . . We await justice and it’s not there; health, and it is still far from us.” Civilization and peace identify with each other in the same way war and barbarism accompany each other. A prophecy is needed today – a vision of love and reason – to shout on the heads of those responsible the imminent dangers to which their foolishness, their fear can lead us. If the body of humanity flows with the Blood of Christ, It shall free it of evil. To the city of man today as to the Jerusalem of then Jesus continues so say: “Oh, if you also knew – especially this day – what would bring you peace!” Precisely on this day, for there is no more time to lose. What is conducive to peace is human rationality together with the divine rationality, and this is substantially what love is. The Blood of the Redemption which makes us consanguineous with Christ and therefore with each other, reassembles as a family: in community, able to reach unity. Moreover, a universal unification seems to be already underway. The ideals of freedom, justice and peace are common to all, elevating the black and the yellow, proletarians and workers of every land and condition. Upon their agitation which is forming the dramatic history of our times, the prophetic invitation of Christ is all the more urgent: “May they all be one!” Igino Giordani 
Marisa Baù, an Italian 
The news, as is to be expected, has spread swiftly among everyone in touch with the Focolare, Marisa’s friends and all who know her. Official Focolare channels and social networks have begun a chain of communion and prayer which has the commitment to pass on any information useful to the search. ‘We are praying in Sweden too’; ‘We pray for her in Berazategui, Argentina’; ‘In Columbia we pray every day. We call upon heaven with faith!’; ‘Also from Spain we pray that she’ll be found’; ‘We miss you, aunt!’; ‘I pray that your guardian angel with be close to you and that you give us some sign to lead us to you’; ‘Marisa … you followed your star, you walked the streets of the world fulfilling the dream of your life: to serve your neighbour out of love. In this period we are the ones looking for a star to follow so we can find you.’ These are a few of the echoes received.
From the heart of Europe it takes about twelve hours to reach the farthest peninsula of the Eurasian landmass: Korea, ‘the Land of the Morning Calm’ as it is called. This country is one of the few in the world still divided between North and South. 
Social Initiative. Heaengbok Maeul, ‘The Village of Happiness’, is a monthly project that has been active for eight years. It helps foreign workers, refugees from North Korea (more than 20,000) and many others in need. Among its services, the project offers a range of medical services, food and clothing, hairdressing and lessons in Korean. ‘To begin with,’ the volunteers with the project say, ‘people were wary, but now they feel loved, and bit by bit they open up and they even bring their own food to be shared.’ 
Politics and economy. The Movement for Unity in Politics (MUP) in Korea began in 2004. It was the initiative of a group of Members of Parliament who, since 2008, have been meeting once a month in the ‘Political Forum for Unity’. The group conducts research and is recognized by the Korean Parliament. Its activity extends to a ‘Social Forum’ open to journalists, lawyers, civil servants, doctors and economists, which meets in Parliament every two months with about 30 people each time. Among the activities promoted by the MUP in 2010 there was the 
“Skip a meal and give the money for the Horn of Africa.” During the past four months the Youths for a United World of Costa Rica have thus launched in their country the Skip a Meal campaign in order to collect funds for this African region, where over 12 million persons live in a dramatic situation caused by the exceptional drought. 
The young people have organised two cultural events at which famous musicians and personalities from their country participated. Both events were a combination of music, poetry, personal experiences and audio-visual creations that brought the participants closer to the reality of the soul of Africa. Skip a meal was mainly inspired by the desire to collaborate to build a more united world; above all, they wanted to love the others in a concrete way by sending a monetary help from the proceeds of the tickets sold for the artistic events. “It was really an unusual experience: the excitement, the enthusiasm, the commitment, the love for this face of Jesus crucified and abandoned and the certainty of His presence amongst us were the ingredients essential to the preparation, during which we became aware of a magnificent reality: not only we were helping Africa, but Africa was helping us.” Through collaboration with various companies and organisations we were given food, infrastructures, and space on the mass media that allowed us to spread the initiative and involve youths and adults who identify themselves with this cause. All this became an occasion to divulge the idea of a united world. 
We have also started to build a direct relationship with the Youths for a United World of Kenya, who writes to us: “Thanks a lot for Skip a meal; we are enthusiastic knowing that Cost Rica is united with us to face these difficult challenges that signify also a sorrow for humanity.” 
Skip a Meal is not a beneficent activity, but an experience of reciprocal enrichment, of sharing, and the opportunity to enter in the African culture. We realise that sharing our competencies with the “Other” we can transcend space and overcome the differences, the geographical, ethnic and cultural separation. Skip a Meal makes us realise that two completely different cultures can unite, understand each other and help each other: “I am because we are.” (Ubuntu philosophy). We are all part of this worldwide net of unity that is being woven. It is up to us to continue to work to build a new humanity. Youth for a United World – Costa Rica Links: Twitter: skipamealer Facebook: 
“They are young; they’re like a current: everybody sees their good number, but it is the wave that pushes them. Whoever rides on the wave, travels far, without effort.” This is the beginning of the letter from Father Pietro Raimondi, chaplain of the San Vittore prison in Milan, where a group of young people of the Focolare Movement, on Christmas Eve, brought a breeze of warmth, living together with the inmates a “silent miracle of light”. The whole story begins with the youth having started to animate the Sunday Mass in the prison: a moving experience that left its mark. A few months before Christmas, they wanted to launch the initiative “Good inside and good outside”, with the challenge to succeed in collecting sufficient boxes of panettone (Christmas cake) for each cell of the prison. “The cell is the only home of the inmate,” write the Youth for a United World, “and therefore in every cell – that is in every home of the big city that is the prison of San Vittore – we want to bring about the atmosphere of Christmas.” “It is they who come out with the ideas, the proposals, the best intuitions,” continues the chaplain. And whoever tells me that they are inconstant, and changing, I say that this is typical of liquid. But I add that liquid has a magic property: you cannot compress it. The pressure they exercise is enormous, they move mountains. They are young and they put pressure always inventing something new. Who listens to them is lucky and walks on water.” 
“Today we took the boxes of panettone to San Vittore!” Now it is one of the young people who speaks. “We were a nice team: some of us unloaded from the vans, some filled the bags, some took them to the metal detector… there was work for all! Then four of us had the beautiful gift of being the ones to distribute the panettoni in the cells. It is impossible to describe the emotion when we stepped over the threshold of the cells, and gave the panettone to each inmate, and saw their joy and gratitude. For the first time after a long time they could see not only guards and their cell companions. And so we experienced a different Christmas… a much more real one.” 
“The generosity of adults often sediments in routine,” Father Pietro writes. He has seen many Christmases at San Vittore. “Even the donation of the panettone to the inmates risks being transformed into an institutional gesture. Always the same person makes the donation, with the same van, belonging to the same firm. And the mechanical gesture of distribution kills the momentum of the original initiative.” “But these young people say to you “Well, why don’t we?” First they set a challenge to themselves and then to the whole world. They say, “We will not buy not even one box of panettone and we will not seek those who make a large donation. We will talk about the dark world behind the perimeter walls. We will talk in the streets, in the schools, to friends and in families. We will talk about those who we do not care whether they are good or bad, guilty or innocent, but who certainly need a gesture of love.” Those gestures that are not an aid to fill a void, but something over and above. And the response has been beyond all expectations. They aimed at distributing 450 panettoni, one for each cell. Soon they became 500, then 1000, and then 1400 and then they lost count. Today in prison, there were 1553 men and 96 women, without counting the personnel and operators. And it appears that everyone received a gift…” .
«I’ve been working in an NGO since 2008. I started out in this job coordinating an area under the direction of the executive director. Then, in the end of 2010 I took some holidays. When I returned to work, I found that the executive director had offered her resignation and I was asked to take her place. When I began, I found things that were left suspended and among them something rather delicate. It had to do with theft. During 2007 and 2008 the ex-director had stolen the taxes from the salaries of the workers and from the NGO, and had not paid them to the State. And so we had to pay a fine of some 75,000 dollars, which was an enormous amount for our organization. Perhaps to cover up what she had done, the former director had paid a certain amount on behalf of each worker that corresponded to the amount that had been deducted from their salary in those years. And she kept for himself the amount that the organization was expected to pay to the State. Each of us received this unexpected bonus without knowing the reason why, and we were very happy and surprised. I received an additional 12,000 dollars in my salary. Happy as I was, my conscience told me that something was wrong, and so I decided to return the extra monies. I contacted some lawyers to know what I should do and they advised me to falsify the documents, even my work contract, etc. According to them, the State would never have figured out the situation and would have enforced the fine anyway. But I wanted to remain faithful to my decision to build a more just society. “What would Jesus do in my place?” I asked myself. He would certainly have gone against the current. And so I decided to act accordingly and even to involve my colleagues in my decision. 
I told them that the first thing they should was to return the monies that didn’t belong to us and to write to the Finance Ministry explaining what had occurred and asking that the fine be cancelled. To my great surprise all of my colleagues agreed this. Meanwhile, the ex-director, who had left the country, let me know that she was very angry with me and that my decision to return the monies to the State was exaggerated. She couldn’t understand my actions and said that this would destroy the team spirit that it took years to build. But for me and my colleagues it meant being faithful to our duties as workers, certain that God – who sees all things – would help us. After three months of contacting the Finance Ministry, we received the happy news that the fine had been cancelled. Moreover, the officials were impressed with the honesty of our gesture in returning the monies to the State. We experienced an answer from God toward those who love and strive to remain faithful to Christian their values. Recently we had to submit our NGO’s financial statement. The Tax Council concluded by recognizing our NGO as a reference point for the transparency of its administration and for the way in which we solved problems together». A. G. – Luanda – Angola
“As you know, a new chapter in the history of Egypt had begun this year, with the unexpected fall of the dictatorial regime. At nearly a year from the initial signs of hope and freedom as a breeze of fresh air, we find ourselves in a delicate phase where along with the great economic crisis and fear of the future, insecurity and discouragement reign among all. But in spite of this difficult situation, we have seen with astonishment the intervention of God who, in a discrete way, is helping us sew a hidden tapestry, weaved with real brotherly relationships. 
While the newspapers and television were transmitting to you the bloody attacks on churches in various parts of the country, and the acts of violence against the crowds during the peaceful manifestations in Tahrir Square, at the same exact time, in one of the districts of Great Cairo, Christians and Muslims were working together,– all animated by the Ideal of unity that Chiara has transmitted to us – in a project, even if a small one, but is a symbol of unity: the project “I belong”. In front of the mistrust, disinterest and indifference of many Egyptians, the goal of the project is to give back to the people the sense of belonging to their country, encouraging them to discover its cultural treasures, starting by cleaning the dirty and neglected angles of the city. Thus, an initiative was born – promoted by the Egyptian artist Elhamy Naguib – to paint murals that express brotherhood, peace and harmony that help make people responsible in civic engagements. So, we launched ourselves together with 40 young people and adults, for 2 days, painting the wall of a school in a poor district, with the theme “We have the right to dream!”. We were 8 months away from the 25th January revolution. Even if everything was legal, the next day we got news from the municipality to erase the painting, without any explanations. We felt as our small flame was dying.