Little superheroes. Some children are forced from an early age to deal with big problems. This is especially the case when it comes to health: the pathway through treatment and recovery can sometimes be particularly long and arduous. So why not include some play in it too? Dynamo Camp is a recreational therapy centre that offers a range of activities to children dealing with medical issues, undergoing treatment or in post-hospital convalescence. Dynamo Camp uses sports, creative laboratories and the contact with nature and animals to help the youngsters recover the playful side of childhood, have fun and regain their self-confidence and belief in their abilities, which may have been sorely tested by illness and periods spent in hospital. The magic of Dynamo is truly strange, unusual and inexplicable. But it is all extraordinarily real and true… when the sessions end, I feel like I have super powers and, as soon as I get a chance, I try to transmit all the energy I have inside. A volunteer Based in Limestre (Pistoia), Dynamo Camp Onlus is a non-profit organisation that has worked in the field of social issues and health since 2006. In 2007, it established Italy’s first Recreational Therapy Camp, welcoming children (aged 6-17) of all nationalities affected by chronic disease, to offer them and their families some holiday time free of charge. The diagnosis of an illness does not only affect the young patient concerned, for this reason the camp has extended its programme to also include siblings, firmly placing family at the heart of the project’s activities. Every year, more than 3,000 sick children are welcomed at the camp, set in the World Wildlife Fund’s nature reserve in the Pistoia Apennine mountain range, where they are offered the opportunity to play games and join creative workshops in which they can develop and demonstrate their abilities. We, at Enel Cuore, firmly believe in the Dynamo Camp mission: we contributed to the extension of the Learning Centre, with the aim of rationalising and transforming the existing building complex into a polyfunctional area that can be used at any time of the year. Our support continued in 2018 with a new project to boost the structure’s capacity for hospitality and activities: proposed interventions include the renovation of “Cabin B”, a residential unit with 26 beds. Details Location: San Marcello Piteglio (PT) Association: Associazione Dynamo Camp Onlus Expected beneficiaries: approximately 500 beneficiaries Total contribution made to Association: up to 500,000 euros (2016) and up to 260,000 euros (2018) Duration: 2016; 2018
