The London told by Dickens is a gloomy, very harsh, almost hopeless place. It is a world of abuse and great youth loneliness. It is a society that seems ancient and distant, almost fairy-tale-like. Yet, the comparison with today’s reality tells us that for many young people not much has changed, despite everything that surrounds us appears so different. For this reason, Paolo decided to name “Oliver Twist” the Foundation that was born in 2005 thanks to the support of Kairos’ partners and Leonardo Del Vecchio, and that today he continues to guide and support through Samhita. An initiative that focuses on youth hardship.
The Foundation has been very active over the years. The main projects concerned the collaboration with the Cometa Association of Como, which led to the opening of the Oliver Twist School in 2009 (a high school that has become established in Italy as a model to look at for the integration of learning and work) and, more recently, the support to Welcomed in the area of eating disorders in developmental age. Over 60 projects have been funded and thousands of minors have benefited from Oliver Twist’s support. The many initiatives sustained by the Foundation include sports, art, music and theatre workshops, day centers, psychological counselling services, job placement workshops, and summer activities for children and young people in the community.
