Giacomo Distefano

My name is Giacomo Distefano.  I am 26 years old and I come from Bologna, Italy. I am a doctor and I am particularly interested in paediatric neuropsychiatry. In the last few years, tired of hearing the same empty anti-migrant rhetoric, I started to be more and more attracted by the world of migration. For this reason, during the summer of 2018 I joined a volunteering program organised by the Scalabrinian Agency for Development and Cooperation (ASCS) in migrants’ informal settlement of Borgomezzanone in the South of Italy. After that, Through the international volunteer program offered by ASCS, I had the opportunity to take part in the programmes of Scalabrini Center of Cape Town (SCCT) from September to December 2019.

I participated in three different projects offered by SCCT: Lawrence House, English School and SIHMA. I worked at SIHMA for two days in the week. SIHMA’s goal is to conduct and disseminate research that contributes to the understanding of human mobility and informs policies that ensure the rights and dignity of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees in Africa. At SIHMA, I mainly carried out research on specific migrations issues. For instance, I made an analysis on the form of refugee reception carried out in Uganda, which is characterised by the establishment of refugee settlements. Thanks to this research, I learned that refugee settlements focus on cohabitation and integration between refugees and local hosting communities, with the aim of improving the living conditions of both. I also realised that in Europe the form of refugee reception that is commonly used is predominantly a different one: the refugee camps. Although the world of research seems sometimes to have just a theoretical dimension, with no real practical implications, I strongly believe that this is not the case of SIHMA, where the research made inform better migration policies at the national and international level.

Overall, I can undoubtedly say that I had an amazing volunteering experience. I am deeply persuaded that I will always bring with me the people I met in Cape Town. The knowledge and the values that I developed will surely have an impact on my professional and personal life.