Today, I introduce you an artist, unique of her kind: Flavia.
Her talent’s LOVE FOR OTHERS.
I met her thanks to Antonio, a common friend, and Facebook. Do you know when sometimes you need to donate money to charity and you look for the right person to give it, a benevolent association which use it in a better way? Well, Flavia is the right one!
I’m honoured to give her the chance to advertise her association in order that she could go on helping children and whoever need her help.
Flavia Capelletti
Flavia Capelletti was born in June 1982. Disabled from birth, she has spastic tetraparesis due to a traumatic delivery, and in particular, to the use of forceps. She’s the president of an association which has the aim to help disabled people to overcome some difficulties, in a world of perfect bodies and appearance. She has a lot of dreams connected to this project and she hopes to realize some of them.
The name of the association is an union of these two thoughts: the wish to create and the invisible thread which ties all the people who love each other, even though they are far. Here, it is “
Il filo creativo di Flavia” (Flavia’s creative thread”)
Q:
How did the idea of “thread” originate?
A:
In 2005, I approached to voluntary service just because I like to fill my time helping who needs it. I felt better and my voluntary service started to chat and listen to those who were alone. Then, a day, my dear friend, Sergio, who was a Crocerossa volunteer, talked to me about a call for help of a Croatian child , ill with leukaemia: he needs Glivec, a medicine that in Croatia cannot be prescribed under the National Health Service. So, we had the idea to collect funds.
At that point, I said: even if I never took a brush in my hands, I make something and we open a little local street market! And so, I did: I bought some tempera colours and I started to mess up, at the beginning on things I had at home and then, on given objects. All these objects, I admit, weren’t so nice but people bought them to hold my good deed up. I loved that experience very much and, given that I didn’t sell all my objects, I made another local street market and another and another more and every time I donated my money to charity.
A day, I met on chat a girl who had a decoupage shop and, talkind a little, she said she’d taught me something. I stayed at her home for one week and I learnt lots of things, I improved my manual ability. After that week, my works became more and more pretty, even my friends asked for them to present and I liked to create them even more. I begun to think about an association in order to group many people who helped with them arts whoever were less lucky than them.
So, in 2008, the “Filo creativo di Flavia” sprang, a “thread” because all of us are joined by an invisible thread which render us brothers.
Q:
I imagine you met many people during your way. Who and how many people did help you on this deed?
A:
Many, many beautiful people. But the one who helped me more during these years was Antonio Seredon, you find him on Facebook. He makes all the parcels and mails my works on Italy. Then, I have many friends and about thirty partners who help me very much.
Q:
In Italy, institutions that have the power to help associations like yours, do they really help you and how?
A:
Till today, I asked anything to institutions, I provided financial support by myself with the selling of my works and calendars. Even the mayor donated to me some of his pictures, two years ago, and I organized a charitable auction. Now, also a municipal councillor bought my calendars to give them to his friends. These are nice gestures I appreciated.
You know, I prefer others help me instead of feeling pity for me. People must know that disabled persons are not a weight but simply have different abilities and it’s their duty improving them, they only need the right ways to do it.
Q:
Since your association birth, did someone hurl the door into your face? And if the answer is yes, what was the most painful and why?
A:
Till now, I’ve been lucky. But, It happened that people who collaborated with me, at the end of the project, told me to go to the hell because I only asked to do a little thanks to the association just to show to all the partners what we did… Well, it happened few times ago and it hurt very much.
Q:
What were the biggest satisfactions your Onlus gave to you?
A:
They were many, so many! Seeing people I helped happy, receiving photos of Africans children who colour with felt-tip pens that I bought for them one month before, seeing the progress of autistic kids who attend a project I uphold. I’ll tell you something happens yesterday: my association helped a child, Ayoub, to come and treat on Gaslini’s hospital. I’m gone to visit him and inside a sterile room, I cuddled and hugged him and then, he left in Tunisia.
Unfortunately, he has no home and money, Yesterday was his 8th birthday and he desired a pizza. So, with the proceeds of my works, I sent him a moneygram and yesterday night , he could eat pizza. This is a little miracle to me. Moreover, his mother told me, he bought a present for me and asked her everyday to send it to his aunt Flà, (me), because he’s afraid it could break. In these moments, you feel the world is too little and that everybody is joint by a thread.
Q:
In these days, you are anxious about Ayoub, tell us about him.
A:
Yes, I’m anxious about him because he’s like a nephew to me, because when you help a person, when you safe his life, a very strong tie binds you to him. And it’s impossible being aloof and detached because for me he’s like a brother or a nephew.
During his hospitalization on Gaslini’s hospital, he used to give to me “bousa” (kisses, in Arab language). I met him thanks to a partner of my association, Eliana Danielli. She told me she need to collect funds to bring him in Italy and treat him here. Doctors thought it was a cancer but it was an infection. The diagnosis is George’s Syndrome. But burocracy didn’t permit Ayoub remains in Italy and he must return in Tunisia. Now, he’s ill and I feel ill too. I hear his mother by telephone, she is shattered, without job and home and with another little child, Omar.
Q:
You undertook very much for Africa, tell me about that experience.
A:
In 2007, I met Leonardo. He went to Africa for a holiday but he lost and a poor woman gave him shelter for the night. From the ceiling of her house, water came in, so he helped her to rebuild the house where she lived with orphan children she took care. This year, a missionary nun asked us to rebuild another house collapsed by intense rains.
Unfortunately, the nun is the kind person who told me to go to the hell because, when they finished to rebuild the house, also with our funds, she took all the credit for the job and to me, it’s not a correct behaviour.
Q:
Tell me about an initiative that touched your heart.
A:
Another strong story: it concerns Paul, a Senegalese child that suffered from Down’s Syndrome, orphan and diabetic. He went into a coma because of his diabetes. I asked if someone could donate him a glycaemia gauge. Well, I received 10 from any part of Italy! It’s just in these occasions you feel people’s closeness and approval for what you do.
Q:
How do your family and friends contribute on the success of your job?
A:
My family didn’t approve the fact that I give everything to charity, that I don’t care about me, that I don’t go to hairdresser and I don’t wear branded goods. But, in my opinion, they only are trifles!
Fortunately, I have a very good uncle who gives me hospitality and he’s happy for what I dobut he’s almost resigned to have got a living room no more because I always work there, now!
Q:
What is your biggest dream you would like to realize?
A:
For now, I’d like to realize a laboratory for disabled kids or better, for kids with problems, because I don’t like that disabled people should only stay with themselves. A big and great laboratory, where many social workers help them and where every profit would serve to put into effect benevolent projects, obviously. The important is helping!
Q:
How can we do to help your association?
A:
Well, you could buy my calendars and my works but I like to involve also other people! To join with us, you could send me your address and I’ll send your membership card at home. Then, we have an annual fee of 25 euros.
Flavia, you are a special person and you deserve love and help from a big number of people because you love what you do. I admire you so much and I hope that your “
Il Filo Creativo di Flavia” goes on to welcome members who help you on your bigger exploits.
And you, dear friends, buy her works and calendars, you’ll make a present to some needy children.
Good luck sweet Flavia.
Sonia.
Translation by Denise Cinquerrui
Contact:
mobile: +39 347.7412541
fax: +39 0363 84173
Facebook: Flavia Capelletti
Messenger: flavy2@hotmail.com
e-mail: direzione@ilfilocreativodiflavia.org
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