I'm a young woman from Milan, born with some physical differences. From childhood, my parents encouraged me to do things on my own, to become as independent as possible.
Around age six, I spent several months in the hospital in Pietra Ligure for hand surgery—my first real experience with formal schooling. When I returned to Milan and home, a doctor advised my parents to enroll me in the Special School for Deaf Children at Gorla.
So I began full-time elementary school, learning various crafts: embroidery, sewing, gardening, and ceramics. Ceramics became my specialty.
I was fortunate to have excellent teachers, especially the one who guided us through all of elementary school. My three older sisters helped my growth too, each in their own way. Their presence mattered.
In my class were spastic children—two of them severely disabled. I gave them all the care and affection I could: I helped them with their journals and notebooks, offered them small kindnesses. One boy in particular needed more help than the rest; I fed him at lunch because he couldn't feed himself. I stayed with these classmates through middle school as well. At eleven, through a friend, I joined a Scout group. That opened a door. I began to know people outside my school and family bubble.
Later I attended a public art school for ceramics. I was thrilled. Here, finally, I lived among everyone else as an equal. For two years after that, unable to find steady work, I apprenticed with a ceramicist.
Then, through the employment office, I found a job at a pharmaceutical company.
I was overjoyed. A new life was beginning—a life in the wider world.
I never forgot my classmates. In fact, I managed to see almost all of them regularly at pleasant family gatherings. Now I'm grateful to volunteer with the Fede e Luce group that formed about three years ago at the parish of San Giuseppe della Pace.
Our meetings happen with warmth and ease. Everyone feels at home, like part of one big family.
We have a priest who cares for all of us, especially the mothers—helping them feel understood, supported, and encouraged.
Alongside the children and young adults are volunteer friends who talk with them, play, and work hard to solve whatever problems come up.
In this modest piece, I want to help others understand that handicapped people are human beings in need of love and compassion. They deserve to be treated with simplicity and naturalness.
Maria Goffi, 1979