Today we celebrate International Social Work Day, with the aim of encouraging wider reflection on the importance and role of social services in promoting social well-being.
This anniversary represents an opportunity for the international community of social workers to discuss a topic that is relevant to different local contexts.
This year’s theme is strengthening intergenerational solidarity for lasting well-being.
On this occasion, Sister Festina, originally from Indonesia but in Italy to serve Jesus in the poor, tells of her social work, in particular at the Piccola Casa del Rifugio in Milan.
A Life Dedicated to Service: my Testimony in the Social Sector
My name is Sister Festina, I’m originally from Indonesia and I’m in Italy because of a choice that has marked and given meaning to my life: to serve Jesus in the poor. I made my perpetual profession last year, consecrating myself totally to Him, and on my journey I have also had the opportunity to train as a social worker.
I currently work at the Piccola Casa del Rifugio in Milan, a shelter for the elderly, the sick and people with disabilities who live in fragile conditions. I work as an animator in two groups dedicated to people with disabilities and in collaboration with an educator, but my mission goes far beyond entertaining or organizing activities: it’s about being there for them, listening to them, giving dignity to those who are often forgotten.
Every day I meet faces marked by suffering, stories of loneliness and abandonment, but also a light in the eyes of those who, despite everything, still find the strength to smile. It is precisely in those smiles that I feel the presence of God.
When an elderly person shakes my hand with gratitude, or when I see hope reborn in those who thought they were no longer worth anything, I understand that social service is much more than a job: it is a meeting of souls, a caress to the heart of wounded humanity.
My experience has taught me that society is not just made up of numbers and statistics, but of real people, with their own sorrows and dreams. Unfortunately, this part of society often remains invisible in the eyes of the powerful. And yet, it is precisely here that the true value of a community is measured: in its ability to take care of the weakest, to give a voice to those who have none, to restore dignity to those who have lost it.
For me, celebrating World Social Service Day means renewing our commitment to look at the world with our heart’s vision, to serve with love and without reserve. It is a reminder that every life has value and that, even in the smallest act of care, we can be instruments of hope.
I entrust my journey to God, with the certainty that every step taken in love is never in vain.
Sister Festina N., Milan, Italy
