Thanks to Pagella in Tasca, the programme promoted and implemented by Intersos, in collaboration with UNHCR, 35 refugee minors will safely reach Italy, attend school, and be hosted by a foster family
The first group of five unaccompanied minors arrived today at the Turin airport – out of a total of 35 children selected within the Pagella In Tasca Programme, promoted and implemented by Intersos together with UNHCR. They are minors aged between 15 and 17, originally from Darfur, Sudan, and were refugees in Niger. In Niger, Intersos, in partnership with UNHCR, manages educational programs in the camps.
Once in Italy, the minors will be hosted by foster families with a community sponsorship mechanism, which also provides for the involvement of volunteer tutors and the Municipality of Turin as well as private social organizations. Families will receive educational, legal and psychological support. Thanks to a 12-month scholarship, these students will have the opportunity to complete a middle school diploma and subsequently choose to continue their educational path to upper secondary school or to vocational training.
“This project is based on two pillars: the right to education and hospitality of a family. For the first time, a student visa is used to allow safe entry to Italy for unaccompanied refugee minors, currently excluded from most other regular entry channels, such as humanitarian corridors,” explains Elena Rozzi, Project Manager for Intersos. “We know that this pilot project is just a drop in the bucket, compared to almost 1,300 people who have died in the central Mediterranean since the beginning of 2021, but we hope that in the future it will also allow other minors to enter Italy safely without having to risk their lives.”
“Pagella in Tasca” is a new secure entry channel that is highly innovative compared to the channels currently active as it is directed towards unaccompanied minors,” says Chiara Cardoletti, UNHCR Representative for Italy, the Holy See and San Marino. “Children and young people represent about half of the more than 80 million refugees in the world. The desire to study and improve their lives is among the reasons that push them to undertake dangerous journeys to Europe. With this program we offer them the opportunity not only of safe passage but also to benefit from a family welcome, demonstrating how much Italy is at the forefront in the protection of refugees.”
Together with Intersos and UNHCR, the Municipality of Turin, the CPIA Piedmont Network, the Archdiocese of Turin and local organizations are partners of this project. A national agreement memorandum has been signed with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior and Labor Departments. The project was carried out with the support of the Italian Episcopal Conference (as part of the Campaign “Free to leave, free to stay” – Funds 8 per thousand Catholic Church), the Migrantes Foundation, of Acri (as part of the “Migrants “) And the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation.