Francesco Romagnoli, together with the Mayor of Florence, Sara Funaro, and Corriere della Sera journalist Iacopo Gori, will share with us his book, Babajé. Il richiamo dei bambini invisibili (Gremese Editore).

The book:

With a simplicity that touches the heart, this book recounts a daring and extraordinary journey that, for over twenty years, has brought support and hope to the most vulnerable in Tigray, an Ethiopian region devastated by drought, disease, and a brutal civil war.

“There is a remote place, so remote that the world seems to have forgotten its existence. There, a village welcomes the invisible children, those orphaned, those unseen by the world. When you pass through the gates of this special place, you hear laughter and songs, joyful voices and sweet words. And then a name, repeated countless times, flowing from every child’s mouth like music: ‘Babajé,’ which means ‘my father.’ What follows is the story of that village. It’s the story of the people who live there, and it is also mine. I am ‘Babajé.’”

Nearly twenty years ago, in Adwa, northern Ethiopia, Romagnoli fulfilled his dream: he built a Children's Village, a safe haven for the "invisible children," those forgotten by the world. Babajé (my father) is the joyful cry that greets him every time he returns. But since the outbreak of the civil war in Tigray, returning has become impossible, and sending aid increasingly challenging.

In these pages, Romagnoli himself tells the story of that village, the lives of those who inhabit it, and the children he has welcomed and helped. It is a moving journey into the lives of those who cling to hope. With heartfelt simplicity, this book recounts a daring and extraordinary adventure that, for over two decades, has provided support and hope to the most vulnerable in Tigray, a region ravaged by drought, disease, and an atrocious civil war.

The author:

FRANCESCO ROMAGNOLI was born in Rome in 1970 into a family of professionals. After earning a degree in Economics and Commerce in 1995, he began working in his father’s firm. However, in 2000, after a trip to the Horn of Africa, he decided to leave everything behind and move to a small village in northern Ethiopia, where he lived for fifteen years. In 2002, together with his family, he founded the association “James Will Not Die.” Using the funds raised, he built a village for orphaned children, followed by a malnutrition center, schools, hospitals, roads, wells, and numerous other initiatives over time.

Returning to Italy in 2015, he now divides his time between Rome and Ethiopia, where he continues to oversee ongoing projects and develop new ones.

All proceeds from this book will be donated in full to the association James non morirà.