Associazione Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII - APG23

Updated: 25/07/2018

Solution provider

Italy
APG23 is an international association of the faithful of pontifical right. Since its foundation in 1968 by Father Oreste Benzi, it has embraced a practical and constant commitment to fight marginalization and poverty. Nowadays it is present in 41 countries in the world, helping daily 41.000 people

The main areas of intervention of APG23 are the following:
• Health care and social assistance
- Assistance, protection and reintegration of disadvantaged people. People in need are offered temporary and/or permanent accommodation and through this are ensured: individual and relational skills development, assistance and care, psychological and spiritual support and reintegration and socialisation programmes. The type of residential facility offered is the so-called ‘family home’, which is founded on the basic elements of the natural family. The beneficiaries are: abandoned children, children with disabilities or victims of domestic violence, adults with disabilities, homeless people, Roma, women who are victims of trafficking.
- Drug Prevention and rehabilitation of drug addicts through counselling centres and therapeutic communities, in which individuals follow a rehabilitation programme based on the specific methodology of the Association.
- HIV/AIDS and malnutrition prevention and treatment in developing countries and areas with a high rate of HIV/AIDS infection and malnutrition (e.g. Sub-Saharan Africa). The beneficiaries are mostly children under 5 years old who are severely malnourished and underweight, and children and adults infected and/or affected by HIV/AIDS. This action also includes the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) and the prevention of child malnutrition through workshops addressed to mothers in the villages.
• Peace and nonviolence education, promotion of conscientious objection to military service and promotion of national and international civilian service for young people (a nonviolent alternative to the army). The Association, through its nonviolent peace corps ‘Operation Dove’, works non-violently, placing itself between parties at war or in conflict, mediating and protecting civilians, minority groups and refugees.
• Vocational education and training for the integration of disadvantaged people in specialised work structures. The beneficiaries are people with physical and mental disabilities, street children, young people in drug rehabilitation programmes, Roma people, homeless people and prisoners in alternative detention programmes. The training aims at promoting and guaranteeing the right of work for all and at improving the skills and abilities of disadvantaged people who are often excluded from the job market.
• Food security and poverty reduction. Interventions to reduce extreme poverty and hunger, such as: supporting income-generating activities, including microcredit projects for women and agricultural development programmes; supporting feeding and therapeutic programmes for children with malnutrition; supporting and organising education for mothers/guardians in HIV and nutrition, hygiene/health practices, and water and sanitation practices.
• Promoting human rights of the most vulnerable and marginalised groups of people, in particular, children, women and people with disabilities.

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