Two months ago, the Sai youth from Rome found out about the volunteering association “Liberi Nantes” that created a football team for African migrants, ten years ago; thanks to Facebook’s “suggested events” around Rome. This team plays matches regularly, a sort of championship, and they’re first, even if they don’t officially have points.

In addition to sports, which can really be called as such, thanks to the virtues it spreads; Liberi Nantes also works with a lot of other wonderful sharing projects for the migrants and the hospitality communities with which they collaborate. They accommodate people from Syria, Turkey, Palestine, China and other countries. One of their projects involves walks around the centre of Rome, its museums, ancient streets and Roman Empire monuments. This last project is called Caminantes and attracted the Sai youth’s attention. They went there with enthusiasm to enjoy the multi-ethnic culture in a familiar environment.

​

Many migrants do not speak Italian and find it difficult to understand what the (volunteer) guide says. Therefore, since the beginning of their participation the youth started being helpful with live translations, thanks to the help of Google Translate. This way, the youth quickly made a summary of what the guide said and immediately translated everything to them in Syrian, Turkish, some African languages, French, English and so on. As an outcome, the youth received happiness from the migrant group because of all the unexpected attention given to them! It was also magical, because “utility from nothing” was created! The youth managed to offer their help, even though they did not know the languages, have specific qualifications and professional abilities. This experience was really pleasant. The youth only needed the will and the desire to make the migrants feel included in the conversations and guided explanations.