On the Nave Italia, life stories are embarked. “And when we disembark, we are all changed”

Nave Italia is the world's largest active brigantine. Today, the battle it is fighting is not against enemy fleets, but against something more subtle: prejudice against disability and social hardship . This is why the Tender To Nave Italia Foundation has been carrying out educational and inclusive projects based on solidarity, cooperation and team spirit since 2007. We talked about it with Commander Andrea Dalmazzone of the Navy.

Commander, what is Nave Italia?

"Nave Italia is a brigantine-schooner of the Nave Italia Foundation that does activities with children of all ages (from school age, from middle school therefore, up to pensioners) with forms of difficulty that can be both physical and mental. We make them sail with us and we make them have this immersive experience of facing the sea, of living with us the conditions of life at sea, of the small spaces, of the difficulties but also of the opportunities that are connected to maritime life. All without filters. We share our fragilities all together: they share theirs with us and we in turn share ours and thus a group, a crew that in a surprisingly short time comes together".

What tasks do you entrust them with?

"Those of integrating the crew that alone would not be enough to maneuver the ship in the daily activities on board. Depending on their difficulties, therefore, they are employed in more domestic tasks - such as cleaning, cooking, helping prepare meals, tidying up the ship - or, if they are physically able, they help us in managing the sails, maneuvering the ship".

How long does the project last?

"We do weekly shifts, from Tuesday to Saturday. Given that the ship is quite sensitive to the sea, we try to avoid getting into sea conditions that could bother those who aren't used to them. So if the weather is bad, we stay in port and do more educational-theoretical activities, but if the weather allows it, we change a group every week and sail."

At the end of the week, which people did you bring back to shore?

“As I was saying, it really changes in a very short time, because we are not social workers or nurses and so naturally we treat them like any other sailor. And this stimulates them a lot. It pushes them to get involved. So, when they disembark, they discover that they have been able to do things that they were not aware of before. Whether it is small things, like setting the table, or large things like adjusting a sail. These are all things that are normally precluded to them in their lives because on land everyone tends to protect them and therefore do things for them. Here on the boat there is neither time nor space for us to be able to do the work for them, and they, naturally, discover that they can do it”.

How long have you been doing this activity?

“I'm embarking in September. Normally we do annual assignments. I asked to stay next year too. We'll see.”

What has this experience given you and what is it giving you?

“A continuous enrichment. A constant confrontation with fragilities, with the strength to get involved and open up. Here on board there is never an attitude of protection and self-protection, which perhaps on land leads you to wear a mask. Here at sea we are all equal. We are here and we have to lead a ship each with our own mentions. There is no pretence, we do what we can for the benefit of the group. And it is an incredible thing, in its simplicity. It touches you inside. Each of us when we leave a group finds ourselves a little different from the week before. There are many small journeys, challenging moments also from an emotional point of view”.

Is there a particular episode that has remained in your memory?

“At the moment I have four groups, one of which was of differently young 'kids', with the onset of Alzheimer's, who came on board with us to get new stimuli that would help them get out of the state of self-pity in which the ordinary management of an elderly person who is starting to no longer be self-sufficient had left them. And we immediately got them to work: the grandmothers in the kitchen preparing food, we had a philosophy professor who we asked to give us evening lessons... And so in the evening we sat down to listen to him and as if by miracle he became young again, he became that professor he had been for years again. Then in the evening we danced. In short, they literally became younger in the course of a few days. They came aboard a handful of years younger. This happens because, like the others, they are not considered disabled on board but sailors. And this gives them a breath of self-esteem and awareness”.