The A-Tono Onlus and Comunità Oklahoma create Albert's Kitchen in Milan

This project, co-financed by A-Tono Onlus, allows children in difficulty to take part in society by using food as a way to form a group

The project is named after the young Albanian Albert Dreni, who was reborn thanks to his experience in the Community, and killed in 2016 while trying to save a friend from an assault on a tram.

"Albert was an Albanian boy we met in 2014 when he joined the Community. Life had given him a second chance and, after his community experience, he was a new person. Albert died in 2016 to save a friend attacked by a group of thugs. "We have dedicated this magnificent project to him," said Andrea Cainarca, Project Coordinator, and Emanuele Martinoli, Chairman of the Oklahoma Onlus Community. The Community was founded in Milan in the south of the city between the districts of Gratosoglio and Quinto Stampi by a group of secular volunteers in 1982.

The project is an educational cookery workshop in the Oklahoma Community for minors, called Albert's Kitchen. It strives to lead a group of youths in their first approach to the world of cookery with the aim of encouraging their inclusion in society with a view to finding work. It takes place under the careful guidance of two educators, Rocio and Luigi, who have worked for many years at the Giannino restaurant, and in the restaurants of the best hotels in Milan: the Gallia, the Michelangelo and the St. Andrew's.

The A-Tono Onlus contributed with a suitable donation to equip a workshop in the Community kitchens, so that Oklahoma Onlus was able to set up a continuous project, whose first cycle ended in July: a group of minors were able to work three times a week in cookery activities, under the guidance of the two devoted educators. A second cycle has already been confirmed, which will conclude by the end of the year and involve other youths from the Community.

Giuseppe Caspani, Deputy Chairman of A-Tono Onlus, explained why he singled out this project and proposed it should be deemed suitable and deserving of support: "In recent years we have seen increasingly large numbers of children and young people arriving in Italy without their parents. Since they cannot communicate and are unable to take care of themselves, many of them end up in the hands of criminals. A-Tono Onlus supported the Oklahoma Community in a direct, concrete way to implement what we believe in, thus making our dream possible: to help these youths and give them a future."

This is how Albert's Kitchen came into being; it is a real workshop on how to live together. When the kids arrive they can't converse, but they all eat. Cookery is a universal language.

Caspani described Albert's Kitchen: "This project has four special thrilling ingredients: the first is it reminds them of their mother's recipes, which they can try to recreate. This is something that helps them a lot because it makes them feel immediately at home. The second is it lets them discover Italian ingredients and their secrets. In this way they begin to get to know our country and to see it a little bit more as theirs. The third is that by cooking together they live together. They become part of a group, with which they share the same experiences and imagine a future. The last ingredient is that they understand the value of food, so that they do not waste it and save money, because tomorrow is our most precious possession. At the end of the course, the boys have grown up, regained trust in others, and found new serenity and a place in the world. Life is valuable again, but above all it has taste."

Catering is an area in which the youths who stay at the Oklahoma Community still manage to find jobs in the world of work, even with their very limited qualifications; this is fundamental for their independence, so they can leave the Community, and fit in and integrate into Italian society. Albert's Kitchen, therefore, is an extremely concrete opportunity to prepare the children staying at the Community for the difficult challenges their condition imposes on them.