Authenticity always wins

Just like Dynamo. It's the desire to always smile, to commit without wanting to show off, without prejudice. To relieve campers and families from the burden of illness and improve their quality of life.

If there were a dictionary of the Dynamo language, under the entry "authenticity" it would read: the natural desire to always smile, to commit without ifs and buts, abandoning the desire to show off and prejudices, without pretense, with humility, to relieve campers and families from the burden of illness and simply improve the quality of their lives. Authenticity is a natural style for Dynamo, it is part of its culture. It is what allows every single staff member and all volunteers to achieve the impossible. A universe of gestures, attitudes, positive energies, where paradoxically one can even do without words.

Giovanna Santella, a biologist from Naples, who only needs four more exams to become a pathologist, knows this well. A Dynamo volunteer since 2014, last spring she realized that her place in the world is not among the microscopes of a laboratory, but among the guests of the Campus. So, she joined the staff: "My first time was in an international session," she explains. "Initially I had many fears, I was worried about language barriers, but I had to change my mind. If verbal communication is generally the main step to emotionally connect with someone, it is equally true that the Campus is one of the few places, perhaps the only one, where communication difficulties are not an obstacle. I met children with significant cognitive impairments, sometimes it was very difficult to get their attention, even knowing sign language." But then, when you least expect it, with a gesture, they ask you to go eat together or simply extend their hand to hold yours. Then you understand that you just need to have the ability to wait for their time. "I will go back to focusing on my path as a biologist when I stop being moved by these gestures," concludes Giovanna. "Every session is like the first. And when it ends, I think Dynamo was the best choice I could have made."

There are those who have been able to experience the concept of authenticity from many different perspectives. Caterina Barbarulo, 21, from Florence, a medical student, is a former camper who became a volunteer after completing the LIT (Leaders in Training) program, designed to fulfill the desire expressed by many campers to continue being part of this experience, even beyond the age limit of 17. "Outside of Dynamo, there's a lot of talk, but you can understand others very little," she says. "When I arrived at the Campus at 13, I felt lost. It's not easy to accept illness, especially at that age. Dynamo helped me a lot, because it made me feel understood. Everyone manages to empathize with you, without the need for words." A look, a hug is enough. It's a magic that is created, hard to explain. You immediately have the feeling that you can trust. But becoming a volunteer means overturning the vision: "Now I am the one who has to welcome, entering the lives of others on tiptoe," confesses Caterina. "It's a very profound journey: sometimes the campers make you feel their deepest wounds, those that have not yet healed, or they show you old scars that still hurt. Our task? To be ourselves, because a glance is enough to understand if we are authentic or not. It's not easy. Only by accepting ourselves, overcoming the boundary between existing and being, is it possible to give ourselves to them, proving to be authentic in the true sense of the word."

Authenticity is also being 74 years old, packing your bags and getting on a train alone, then on a bus, to reach the Campus. "I feel so much gratitude because Dynamo manages to bring out the best in us," explains an emotional Ester Filippi, a retired Roman, who spent her life as a teacher and is now on her third experience as a volunteer in the Dynamo canteen. "What I receive in return cannot be measured. When I return home, to the parish, to the library, and to the gym, I tell everyone about what I experienced at the Campus. Many are amazed that I can do everything alone and some ask me: 'Who makes you do it, at your age?' But for me, it's not at all tiring! The organization is impeccable, nothing is missing. There's an answer to everything, you don't even have to ask. This is Italy that works!"

Staff and volunteers, moreover, are literally infected by the authenticity of the campers. Like that of Davide Saccone, 17, from Milan, blind from birth, who last summer participated for the first time in a session for teenagers. If you ask him to talk about Dynamo, he replies: "Let's sponsor Dainamo!" And if you point out that it's pronounced Dynamo, he retorts with conviction: "No, Dainamo! I invented it." So for his interview, it will be called Dainamo! "At first I didn't want to come to Dainamo alone," explains Davide, "but then I had fun because Dainamo is cool. When I arrived, I immediately wanted to meet someone, because I'm a very 'contact-oriented' person. You have a week of total fun, there are no parents telling you what to do. You forget everything: it's not a lie, it's really like that! You all have to come to Dainamo because Dainamo is the only home there is." Davide spent his best afternoons as a DJ, shouting at the console: "I can't see you, but I want your hands in the air! I want to hear you, Dainamo!"

Source: DYBC MAGAZINE