‘There is always a way to help others’

With the Digital Bridge project, created in collaboration with the Italian Red Cross, we give a voice to volunteers who have chosen to get involved through digital training. These are stories of resilience, altruism and personal growth, showing how technology can become a bridge to new opportunities. The first story we tell is that of Elena Venditti, 51, a CRI volunteer for over twenty years: a shining example of how we can continue to help others even in the most difficult times.

We meet Elena virtually to hear about her training experience with the Digital Bridge project, but we soon realise that her story is much more than a training story: it is a testimony of resilience, civic passion and dedication.

Elena is a qualified instructor and advisor for the dissemination of international humanitarian law, a field she became familiar with through her studies in political science. Today, she is involved in promoting the values and principles of the Red Cross, including among young people, through national awareness and training campaigns. ‘The values of the Red Cross are not easy to apply, but those who try every day become better people,’ she says. ‘The good fortune is sharing with so many others a love for one's neighbour that makes you think the world is not lost.’

In recent years, Elena has had to face a new challenge: a cancer diagnosis that has imposed limits on her operational activities. But this has not stopped her. On the contrary, it has prompted her to seek new ways to continue making her contribution. This is how she learned about Digital Bridge, thanks to the association's internal portal and the Italian Red Cross's monthly newsletter.

Among the various modules available, she has chosen to participate, for the time being, in the one on “life skills”: a course that allows participants to rediscover and train transversal skills, useful for facing personal and professional challenges. 'I really appreciated this opportunity because it enabled me to take on a new activity, remotely, that is compatible with my health condition. When you are alive, you have to live life to the fullest, right? I am grateful for these opportunities to improve my relationship with myself."

Elena plans to participate in other training activities with Digital Bridge, also and above all to learn how to use the social media most loved by young people (she is currently only active on Facebook). But for Elena, the value of the project goes far beyond digital learning: it is a space for empowerment, especially for those who, like her, live in a fragile condition. ‘I believe that so-called vulnerable volunteers can find in the project an opportunity to start afresh. Even just realising that you still have resources is something that changes you.’ Her message is loud and clear: ‘There is always a way to give to others, even when you are vulnerable. Because there are always those who are worse off. I, for example, eat every day.’

With profound clarity and generosity, Elena also shares her view on the role of the younger generation in the Italian Red Cross: "Young people are not only the future of our Association or our current society, they are key players in the present with specific needs and abilities: the former must be listened to and the latter utilised. The key lies precisely here: helping them to be aware of their role and their responsibility towards the future. At the Italian Red Cross, we teach them to plan, to promote their ideas, to be independent. They need to know that they can do it. The empowerment of young people, the Fundamental Principles and Values of the Red Cross, as well as the dissemination of international humanitarian law, are for me an opportunity to contribute to building a better humanity (our first Fundamental Principle)!"

In a world that often seems to be spinning too fast, Elena's experience reminds us that solidarity can take many forms, and that every small gesture, even from a distance, can become a bridge, a source of care, a bond.

Thank you, Elena, for your light and your example.

Edited by Alberta Testa, social media manager