When the idea of SenzaGiro came to us, we thought of a game, a diversion to fill up those days of May, which were going to be abruptly deprived of our favourite sport, our “race of the heart”. Despite the fact childhood is a distant memory for all of us, we love playing. For us playing is still a source of learning and self-development. While we were envisioning this “Giro d’Italia that is not to be”, we have realised that, during these strange days, playing is not enough. One must play the game instead.
There are thousands of individuals out there that are doing it, day after day, by risking their health and putting their personal interests aside, including family and loved ones. These people have taken on challenge that is a way more serious than a cyclo-literary pastime. We wish that our game may be of relief to them, supporting their efforts up on the climbs and amplifying the joy of the sprints they are launching themselves into.
There are thousands of people, associations, organisations, cooperatives and individuals of any kind that are giving their contribution to make the fight against CoVid-19 successful. So, it was not that easy for us, being locked down in our homes, to identify the final beneficiary of our contribution. We have then focused on Bergamo, the epicentre of this drama. We have asked advice to those that live and (do not) cycle around the city, including our friends of Bikefellas, who have introduced us to Cooperativa Sociale Namasté (www.coopnamaste.it), a notable social cooperative with over twenty years of history that is active in the Bergamo area and offers assistance to over three thousand needy people on a daily basis – disabled, elders, sick, children and troubled teenagers.
During these weeks, even the commitment of Namasté has been strained by the sanitary emergency – yet the cooperative has responded in an extraordinary way by procuring and distributing personal protection equipment and by boosting their domiciliary care services. They have powered their counselling centre and started offering psychological, educational and material support to all the individuals relying on social services, to make sure that the emergency would not turn into an additional and more severe cause of marginalisation.
Thanks to SenzaGiro we challenge ourselves in raising funds to support the activities of Namasté. We have chosen a beneficiary whose endless engagement is in front of our eyes, an association touring along the roads of Bergamo and surrounding areas daily. A bit like a cycling race, a bit like the Giro, which remains our favourite game.
