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  A new guide to inform the more needy pilgrims

David Murgia

“Where to eat, sleep and wash”. A new guide of useful information was presented and outlined by the Community of Sant’Egidio, which continues to provide its assistance to the poor and needy. A kind of “yellow pages of the poor” which includes news, telephone numbers, useful addresses for those who need accommodation and assistance. A “compass” to find one’s direction in the city. The booklet follows other earlier editions, with the difference that this year, for the Great Jubilee, the Community of Sant’Egidio, has increased structures and services. In fact, in order to be able to respond to the needs of the numerous pilgrims who will arrive in the capital, the guide includes around 600 addresses, 40 more compared to last year, with 7 more centres where one can find accommodation, 3 more where one can find food and 8 centres where one can wash. In addition there’s also an increase in the parish centres that make available spaces and human resources for reception. 144 pages to inform and direct distributed in 13,000 widely circulated copies. During 1999, the Community of Sant’Egidio distributed around 107,000 warm meals, offering assistance to 1,468 homeless. The customary Christmas lunch was offered on 26 December in Santa Maria in Trastevere and the some day, in some institutes and areas of Rome, elderly people and families in difficulty were received for lunch in friendly homes. The end of year dinner was organised at the Polyclinic Hospital. For the feast of the Epiphany, 6 January, a huge bingo will be set up with the poor people of the soup kitchen in Trastevere. Along with the guide, the last figures on the elderly, homeless and immigrants who live in Italy were also presented. In Rome, elderly people who are over 65 years of age are 489,000. Of these - the dossier points out – 12,000 do not have a telephone and 60,000 are in need of assistance. The homeless, who are difficult to calculate, are over 1,468 in the capital alone; the majority are foreign. According to the figures, the citizens present in Italy with regular permits are 806,000. Of these around 26% are irregular. The Community of Sant’Egidio was established in Rome in 1968 by Andrea Riccardi and has over 20,000 members. Among the characteristics of the Community, we need to mention its good work in assisting the poor, in ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue, various humanitarian activities and in favour of peace. These include peace in Mozambique in 1992, obtained with the official mediation of the community, as well as other contributions like in the crises in Albania, Kosovo, Burundi and Guatemala. The Community of Sant’Egidio is present in various Italian cities and abroad. It is present in thirty European and non-European countries. It has been a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize since the mid-nineties.

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