Francesco’s Travel Diary – Dispatch 6: the solidarity ride runs towards the South

Francesco recounts the last stages of the 2024 solidarity ride and takes stock of the many people he met, old and new friends from Isla ng Bata, the experiences and emotions he experienced and the unique strength that comes from pedaling for a good cause like that of our Family Home.

“It was hard, a lot! There were easier stages and others that were really hard, but every time I felt like giving up, I thought about how many people worked hard to make this project a success: the people who supported Isla ng Bata, the old and new parents at a distance, the volunteers, the activists, the Isla staff in Italy and our girls. Thinking about how much solidarity revolves around Isla gave me the right energy every day, to get to the end of this beautiful solidarity project!”

“One of the stages that I will remember the most will undoubtedly be the volunteers’ stage. I would have liked them all with me, from Sicily to Trentino, but I realize that it is not easy to leave at any moment. In any case, I was really happy to have a good following: volunteers from Rome but also from Bologna, Venice, Reggio Emilia, Vicenza, Mantua. My dream? It would be to do a “caravan” bike ride with volunteers from all over Italy! The Latina – Nettuno stage was one of the last before finally arriving in Rome on October 30th”.

“In Rome too, I was welcomed by many friends and supporters of Isla. It is thanks to all these people that we have managed to do so much in these 20 years and continue to do so. And then in Rome a wonderful surprise awaited me: at the event for the last stage I met Alessia Zecchini, world freediving champion, who I hope will soon come to visit us in Family Home to tell the girls about the great successes and the infinite possibilities for personal and professional fulfillment that each of them can have. We really need positive examples and Alessia is truly a wonderful person!”.

If you want to support Francesco in his charitable enterprise, you can do so in many ways:

• Join us and pedal with us in one of the next scheduled stages;
• Support Isla’s project and become a parent from a distance;
• Support the charitable enterprise with a donation here.