From Europe to Jesi

During the last month, we were working on our project to make Rivestiamo more “shop alike”. We wanted it to resemble more the “real” clothing store, but also do it in a sustainable way.  First part of our work started with the mannequin. Initially our intention was to buy the used/no-longer needed mannequins from the shops, but then Simona stumbled upon the idea of creating one from scratch! We didn’t need much of the supplies to create the main body of the mannequin - just two old shirts, a lot of tape and something to stuff inside. Since we receive a lot of clothes in the warehouse, shirts were easy to obtain - and so were the stuffing, for which we have used the insides of the pillows. The hardest part actually came with finding something that we can use for the stand. At the beginning we wanted to use the wooden branches, but finding the ones that would be proper and could support the body while standing wasn’t easy, so we’ve changed the idea and used the stand made of metal in...

Once a week we go to Casa delle Genti together with our Caritas mentor Margherita. Casa delle Genti, translated as "House of the People", provides accommodation and meals for homeless men for a period of 15 days. During this time, Caritas staff also provides guidance to the guests to work out what options are available according to their needs. When we go there, we offer our company. The residents are invited to sit with us, play games or talk. Open and informal. Our Italian language skills are only basics, but it's nice to talk in a mix of Italian, English and gestures with people and get in touch with them. For us ESC volunteers, it brings us closer to the people we work for in the kitchen, warehouse and the clothes distribution. The small talks turns the faces into personalities.  With Margherita, the residents can have real conversations in Italian. They can share their thoughts, talk about their worries and tell stories about their lives and families. Even though I u...