Organization
Who is behind St. Anthony’s Charities
To date, St. Anthony’s Charities is a non institutionalised non-profit organisation with a limited number of staff. It is based primarily on the work of volunteers spread around the world.
An international network of volunteers
The director and soul of the organisation, Father Valerio Folli, has the fundamental task of keeping the network in working order. That is, he must keep the system, the connection between people, going: this involves national and international volunteers, bodies, resources, and local and external contacts, in order to combat the root causes of poverty.
Father Valentino is flanked by two collaborators, Claudia and Silvia, who could be defined as “St. Anthony’s sieve”: their task is to register all requests for help, verify them, establish contacts, check documents, follow the different phases of the projects and demand regular updates, up until the final report which certifies the conclusion of the project.
Father Valerio Folli, Director of St. Anthony’s Charities
«We have a preferential option for the poor and vulnerable, especially in those places where aid is not forthcoming. It is precisely in the most forsaken of places where small interventions yield the greatest results. This is why we prefer small, clear-cut projects, demanded by the beneficiaries themselves; projects that are verifiable and suitable to the beneficiaries’ real life problems».
Silvia, St. Anthony’s Charities collaborator
«In our work we have learned to feel citizens of the world; we have learned to share people’s problems and to appreciate the small things in life, because we are aware that, for a good part of humanity, even a tap offering drinkable water is a real luxury».
Claudia, St. Anthony’s Charities collaborator
«People want to be there for other people in St. Anthony’s name; this is proof positive against those who say that the world is an ‘ugly and evil’ place. Here we reap a hundredfold».
