Today, April 2, is the world day of inclusiveness and to celebrate this anniversary BMW Motorrad Italia has chosen to tell the story of the motorcycle journey made by Franco Antonello together with his autistic son Andrea, which supported by two other travel companions and by BMW Motorrad they crossed the whole of India on motorcycles, learning to evaluate the life of autistic children with a new approach, according to another philosophy of life. The journey saw the four protagonists face off challenges of daily life among the most diverse; from the difficult survival in the Indian urban jungle to lunches served directly on the table without crockery or anything else, up to improvised hotels along the roads that connect Indian cities, with “rooms” that provide only one sheet to shelter from the sun and a wooden pallet that serves as a bed. An experience however, which has left important lessons to the protagonists, such as the serenity and cheerfulness of the local population who, despite having little or nothing, are always willing to show their best side towards others.
The words of Alessandro Salimbeni, general manager of BMW Motorrad Italy:
“This project with which we have supported the work of the Bambini delle Fate focuses on the theme of social inclusion, which is the front where BMW Motorrad is active within our corporate social responsibility program which is called SpecialMente. I like to say that the motorbike in itself is inclusion: in fact, it is not just a means of transport, but it is a lifestyle that brings us together, that unites us in a large community where even very exclusive products, such as a BMW motorbike, become an inclusion tool. Motorcyclists, in fact, even if they don’t know each other, like each other, greet each other when they meet, stop to help each other in case of need, live in harmony by sharing this passion.
The project of this adventure in India it was supported by BMW Motorrad Italy in the context of Especially, the wide and varied corporate social responsibility program of BMW Group Italia, among which we also find SciAbile. This project was designed to make people aware of the delicate issues that families with autistic children have to deal with on a daily basis. Frank Antonellofounder of “Children of the Fairies”, he said: “India is in fact a land where love prevails, where through the eyes of those you meet you understand that it takes very little to be truly happy and that happiness is hidden within us. In this new experience, life, even the ‘autistic’ one, is seen with different eyes, with a different philosophy. With an intuitive sensitivity that helps to understand the other. Andrea also fully grasped this aspect, telling in her own words that India is full of calm people with all the chaos around ”.
Especially and the Fairy Children
Franco Antonello is Andrea’s father, an autistic boy, with whom he managed to communicate ea create a special relationship thanks to the bike and the trips made in the saddle. As Andrea grew up, Franco thought of one of the most important problems that a family with a disabled child will inevitably have to face: the “after”. What will happen to the children when the parents are gone? it was precisely this “fear” that gave Franco the strength to go further and try to do something concrete and lasting for these kids. After years of work “Children of the Fairies” can count today su more than 5,000 companies that finance the association every month which in turn undertakes to support locally throughout Italy the realities socially committed to helping children with autism and their families.
There are important objectives that this association has achieved thanks to funding, among which “The social time bank” stands out. It is an initiative with which young volunteers dedicate part of their free time to their peers affected by autism, who suffer from the lack of real and lasting bonds of friendship outside the family context.
Then there is, as anticipated, the “After us” project with which this social enterprise buys and then donates houses to the various local associations that deal with autism, in order to ensure a dignified and autonomous follow-up to autistic children once their parents or whoever takes care of them today will no longer be there.
