Annual report Helpcode Italia 2020 - EN

A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT
The SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for the disease we call COVID-19 has been diagnosed in more
than 177 million people since we started counting. It has caused about 4 million recorded deaths,
plus many others that have gone unrecorded. The number of people without work has grown, as
all the world’s major economies and whole industries have been disrupted. Today, more than a year
after we first put on face masks, we still don’t know what our future will be like.
The pandemic is global, and appears to have struck everywhere, with no distinctions. At first glance
we may all appear to be poorer than before, but if we take a closer look, we will see that the effects
of the economic crisis caused by the pandemic have widened gaps and inequalities: those who were
struggling to build a life for themselves have less opportunities than before, and those who were
weak are now even weaker.
Children and students saw their learning opportunities compromised, and therefore their chances
of becoming conscientious, independent adults. Poorer schools and families suffered the most,
because they could not afford the equipment for remote instruction. Young university graduates
looking for employment have had to lower their expectations even further. Women have been more
exposed to domestic violence. Migrant workers have been left even more alone in their misery.
As the world attempted to adapt to the virus, many inequalities were exacerbated. We will remember
2020 as the year everything changed; but what will stay with us of this experience, years down
the road? Only ruins, unpleasantness and hardship? Or will we be capable of taking a new look at
our lives and our way of understanding the world and development?
In the face of a virus that infects peoples and individuals all over the world, it becomes clear that we
are all connected, and that there cannot be a happy world as long as there are people who suffer.
That the resources available to us and our efforts must be invested in a future that allows everyone
to have opportunities, self-awareness and freedom.
I believe that Helpcode’s focus on sustainable development, solidarity, and the culture of world citizenship
are more relevant than ever today.
And, lastly, I hope that what arises out of the ashes of 2020 will be an awareness that life is not about
accumulating things, but living.
Giorgio Zagami
Helpcode President
ANNUAL REPORT 2020 3