When my wife Irma, Paolo, and I joined the Faith and Light movement back in 1979, we never imagined we would receive such a tremendous gift—one that would bear fruit for our family for decades to come. The greatest fruit was meeting so many people who welcomed us as if we had been close friends for years.
The reflection we did together as a community, guided by remarkable priests like Father Pierangelo Sequeri and Father Dario Madaschi, changed our lives. It awakened in us a deep desire to give back all the goodness we had received from our friends in the movement.
Those were the years when we decided to adopt Chiara, a three-month-old girl with Down syndrome who had been abandoned in a hospital in our province. Though we were already raising Paolo, who also has Down syndrome, we felt we could help another child facing similar challenges. Today Chiara is seventeen and attends a vocational school. Paolo is thirty-eight, working steadily at the newspaper *Il Sole 24 Ore*—both doing well. But as aging parents, we found ourselves asking what would become of our children after we were gone. The same question haunted so many of our friends.
Together with other parents of disabled children—friends from Faith and Light and others we knew—we set out to understand what solutions existed for this difficult problem. We decided to learn what options society and institutions could offer.
We realized that one crucial answer was a residential community that could house no more than eight or ten people. We also understood that if we didn't create a credible project ourselves and present it to the wider community, nothing would happen. No ready-made solutions were waiting for us.
We asked our town's administration if there were empty buildings to rent. After several months, our mayor offered us a former kindergarten building that stood vacant and seemed perfect for our purpose.
We immediately created an association and named it Arcobaleno—Rainbow—to show the world that we chose this symbol to represent the moment when a storm ends and clear skies return; a time of hope. Today we have two hundred members, many of them friends from the Faith and Light group in our town.
In exchange for the legal structure we established, the municipality granted us the building on a free, long-term lease for ninety-nine years. A great dream for us is becoming real.
We are now working with skilled architects to finalize the restoration plans so we can access funding from both private and public sources. The renovation will be expensive, but we are not afraid. Providence has already spoken through our Mountain Community and the Cariplo Foundation.
When the building becomes a residential community, we will call it Dario's House—to honor a great friend and priest who, though no longer visibly among us, will always be remembered for the signs of hope and love he gave us.
Read also: In Dario's House, 2021 Update
Many parents want to leave their property and inheritance to this cause, so we are exploring how to join an important foundation that will guarantee—even more reliably than an association—the secure management of those gifts and the care and protection of our children.
For more information, visit our website, where you can also send us your ideas and suggestions.
Carlo Fornari, 2002
Arcobaleno Association — Onlus
Legal Address: Via F. Turati, 2/b - 22036 Erba (CO)
Operational Address: Via Trento, 9 - Tel. 031/623330 - Postal Account No. 22907257
Email: info@casadidario.org
Email: arcobalenoonlus@libero.it
