Contact Person: Annamaria Fantauzzi; Telephone Number: +39 3387931590;
E-mail: annfantauzzi@tiscali.it;
Website: www.praticare.altervista.org
We met Annamaria Fantuzzi, Medical and Cultural Anthropologist at the University of Torino and president of the Association Prati-care Onlus.
Prati-care Onlus seats in Torino and was born in 2008 following Annamaria’s experience in Kenya where she was volunteering during an Humanitarian mission in the village of Ndugu Zangu in the north-east of the country.
Once back, Annamaria talked about her experience to her students and together they decided to create this Association that helps all people desiring to have a volunteering experience on the field.
The name of the association has a double meaning. In Italian “praticare” is a synonym of concrete and immediate help; in English “prati-care” is the idea of care as take care, listen to, pay attention to who may need any help.
Prati-care Onlus works through etnonursing missions, by assisting and supporting in the care of people in “different” environments, for example in Africa.
At the moment the association is working in Kenya, Senegal and Morocco.
In Kenya they are helping the Ndugu Zangu and the Cedic Naniuky orphanages, 130 km from the capital 
Nairobi. Nduguzangu is the reference center for orphan and heart patient children.
In Naniuky there is the General Hospital and the Huruma Centre where the Italian students volunteer.
In Senegal Prati-care Onlus worked from 2010 until 2013 in the Casamance, in the Sedhiou region. Here the Association supported the educational costs for the children, the expenses for 10 nursing centers and the logistic for the rice growing activities.
Since 2014, in agreement with the director of the local hospital, the Association has started a new financial project to support the M’Bour Hospital, and in particular to help the Pouponnerie, the big orphanage in the city.
In Morocco, in agreement with the local Health Ministry, since 2014 they’ve started a collaboration with the local volunteering Associations defending children and handicapped people.
Prati-care Onlus works in Italy too, in particular in Torino.
The Association started a new initiative that consists in collecting food and in operating its daily redistribution for disadvantaged people, included a psychological and follow through service.
In partnership with LVIA NGO they are realizing courses to provide a psychological sustain to the refugees.
Finally, they’ve established a “gift redistribution” service through the local hospitals and the foster homes.
We asked them about their future projects.
The main objective is to follow up with the actual projects. For the future, they would like to start working in new countries as Ethiopia and Ivory Coast. In Ethiopia they are planning to work in collaboration with the Il Sogno di Tsige Onlus, an Association from Ivrea (Torino).
In Italy they organize events, fundraising campaigns and conferences on different subjects.
With Prati-care Onlus it is possible to actively collaborate in Italy and abroad, by writing with them a University final paper for example.
Xlestrade asked for a message to leave to our friends.
They have two messages for us. The first one is: “Whatever you give will be always yours, whatever you keep will be lost forever”. The second one is: “A concrete and practical help to whom may need”.
We would like to thank Annamaria for her friendship and for starting this collaboration with us. Xlestrade aspires for more and more friends! Now we are bringing with us in our backpack the “care” baggage as well, the care for the others!
Traduzione a cura di Monica Zambon
