Dec. 19 – “What can I say about this trip? It was an amazing experience, much stronger than I could have imagined! I’m ready to go back to training, after this pause that made me stronger. Intervita helped me put my first foot in Africa and this trip I am sure I will never forget. I was able to see and experience firsthand the projects that the organization supports in Kenya aimed at helping women and children. It was all very exciting.” This says Elisa Di Francisca, double gold in women’s foil at the last Olympics in London, after the trip in Kenya with Intervita to help underprivileged children. “I was in Manga: in schools where there is no electricity and the kids walk miles and miles, barefoot to study; and in the maternity ward built by Intervita to counter the leading cause of women mortality in the country: childbirth,” said the fencing champion. “After Manga, I visited Narok, for the Intervita project that combats female genital mutilation – explained Di Francisca – Maybe this is what struck me most deeply. The Masai live in this area, a tribe that commonly practices female genital mutilation, a barbaric act that, in many cultures, marks a woman’s entrance into adulthood and marriage. We are talking about girls aged 12 to 15 years, who are assaulted in the early hours of the morning and undergo this incredibly painful operation that carries indelible psychological and physical consequences. And sometimes even death. My trip then ended in Nairobi, with an overwhelming visit to the slums. It is difficult to accept that there are still places like this. Here the needs are endless, especially those of whom, as always, are the most vulnerable: women and children. In this slum – she concluded – there are more than 800,000 people, most of them are single mothers with four, sometimes six children. They live on average with less than one dollar a day, the spread of HIV seems unstoppable, and hope is a luxury.” On Christmas day, and again on December 30, Sky Extra will be airing a special 26 minutes of Elisa di Francisca reporting the journey that has changed my life.
