We follow our projects in person. Our team leaves every month to bring humanitarian aid to unrecognized spontaneous refugee camps. Without intermediaries.
SSCh – Support and Sustain Children – is an independent, nonprofit voluntary association based in
Verdellino (Bg). It was founded in 2013 in the form of a purpose committee and then arrived at its current structure, starting in 2018.
The association’s mission is to lend support and advocacy to the hundreds of families and thousands of children and youth orphaned and victimized by the decades-long Syrian conflict, extreme poverty in Madagascar and devastation in Gaza. We are committed to providing for their
basic needs and building the conditions for social and economic redemption, restoring their denied dignity.
Through concrete projects, such as the Aman Center, Help Point and clinic in Syria, support for the entire refugee camp on the Turkish-Syrian border, water and food access programs in Madagascar, and support for affected families in Gaza, we work to provide a better future for those living in emergency conditions.
Building on its experience in Jordan, Iraq, Greece, the Balkans and Romania, SSCh has put its organizational capacity to good use, bringing relief and aid not only to children, the main target of the team’s work, but also to refugees and displaced people living in extremely vulnerable
conditions.
In addition to these interventions, SSCh works directly in Syria, Gaza and Madagascar, providing medical care, food support and development projects to restore dignity and future to those who need it most.
A distinctive element of SSCh is its physical presence in the places of intervention. Every aid, support and activity is documented in monthly or bimonthly missions. Constant monitoring of the network of local collaborators, proper investment of resources and distribution to aid recipients is
carried out. Every resource invested-derived from private donations or calls for proposals-is meticulously tracked and accounted for.
Il team
“We are ordinary men and women, with jobs and families, and like everyone else we experience the feeling of having little time to dedicate to good causes. After seeing firsthand the situation of children in refugee camps – poor in every way – we understood that any help is fundamental for them. For their own lives but also for us, our community and our society.” Arianna Martini
Arianna, Founder and president of SSCh
“I have always looked for poetry in the world. Then I met the eyes and hands of the children who were victims of the war and I understood that my restlessness had found its way to her. I am the most exposed person because I am the one who leaves every month to reach the camp and check that everything is working, but I have a formidable team next to me who supports me at all times.”
Barbara Colombo – Vice president and founding member of SSCh
“I started this adventure with Arianna Martini, in the wake of her strength and humanitarian passion. It was an opportunity to look beyond my family and my work, and open my eyes to the enormous tragedy of war and its innocent victims: children. Since then I have been an active part of this project.”
Luca Iacomelli – Storyteller, Social communication SSCh
“I chose SSCh, among many associations, because it is always present in the field. I first became a supporter and then I was offered the opportunity to become part of the team as a volunteer. I decided to enthusiastically give my contribution by making my skills available, aware of the great work that goes into a humanitarian organisation.”
Maruska Arrigoni – Management of website and SSCh gadgets
“I have been part of SSch since its inception. When I look into the eyes of the children we help, it hurts me that they are defenseless. Many are orphans or have parents who cannot provide for them because they have lost everything: home, job, family. My desire is to help those children and parents feel less helpless by restoring their dignity and hope.”
Margherita Dognini – SSCh accounting management
“I have been friends with Arianna Martini for many years and have been in the association since its birth.
I was struck by his going personally to bring help in areas where no one else or few others intervene, his direct contact with children, women, men and the elderly. From every trip he brings back stories, photos and thoughts that involve us, making us participants in a truly important project.”
Anna, SSCh doctor.
Doctor of Support and Sustain Children.
I am a young doctor from Bergamo. After graduation, five years ago, I enrolled in a Master in Tropical Medicine and International Health Cooperation: since then I have always alternated my work here, in Italy, with missions in developing countries, combining my profession with the great love for travel and humanitarian aid.
Paolo Messina, Pietro Politi – Photographers for SSCh
“We come from different professional experiences, but we found ourselves enthusiastically sharing the journey with SSCh. We document – each with their own style and sensitivity – the faces, the situations, the daily lives of people marginalized from the world due to a war that continues to rage against the defenseless and innocent. We are the eyes and memory of the team that goes on a mission every month bringing aid and support to the least of the least.”
Valentino, Photographer for SSCh
For me, SSCH is family. Participating in missions and offering my contribution as a photographer is a deeply meaningful experience. Thanks to my images, those who support us can feel part of our mission, living and sharing every emotion, story and special moment of our work.
Andrea, Operative for SSCh