{:it}It is equal to 5,250 euros the amount that Loanese Pierangelo Rubatti, thanks to the willingness and collaboration of some associations in the city (Red Cross, Associazione Sagra del Crostolo, Pro Loco Loano, Confraternita delle Cappe Turchine and Associazione Vecchia Loano), collected and donated to the Catholic mission ’Regina Pacis“ based in Chae Hom-Lampang in Thailand.
Representatives of the associations explain, “There is a lot of talk about well-being as a ‘common good,’ and so this summer we wanted to do something concrete to make it happen. Our associations are made up of volunteers who dedicate part of their time to making Loano a better city. The areas in which we operate are different, but the purpose is the same for all of us: to promote the area, to help the sick, to keep traditions alive. All this has always united us.”.
“Every summer we organize various festive and refreshment events at the Sea Workers‘ Cottage. This year, in conjunction with these events, we hosted in our spaces Pierangelo Rubatti, a Loano man who at different times of the year sets up a gazebo at which handicrafts made by the boys of the ’Regina Pacis” mission in Chae Hom-Lampang, northern Thailand, are available for sale (in exchange for a small solidarity contribution). With this initiative Pierangelo Rubatti offers Loano residents and tourists the chance to make a contribution to the mission and fill their eyes with the beauty of the children's smiles.".
Thanks to the hospitality provided by Loano associations, Rubatti was able to raise the sum of 5,250 euros. Through Vecchia Loano, the amount has already been sent to Thailand: “With this offering, Don Bruno, parish priest of the mission, will be able to maintain and educate 16 children for a year, thus allowing them to pursue their human and cultural path.”.
The Chae Hom-Lampang Catholic mission experience began in 1997 with the start of the collaboration between the Triveneto churches and the diocese of Chian Mai. On July 7, 1997, Fr. Pietro Melotto and Fr. Gabriele Gastaldello, from the diocese of Vicenza, arrived in Chiangmai accompanied by Monsignor Antonio Mattiazzo, bishop of Padua, and Fr. Ruggero Ruvoletto, then director of the Padua Missionary Center. After a period of language study and experience at Pime in Lanpang, they began residing at the Chaehom Center from October 1999. On June 29, 1999, Fr Bruno Rossi and Fr Lorenzo Biasion from the Diocese of Padua arrived. Later Fr. Giuseppe Berti from the diocese of Verona also arrived. Since May 1, 2000, the “Queen of Peace” parish has been established in Chaheom.
The parish is in charge of the pastoral care of 45 villages spread over an area of 3,249 square kilometers. The mission's work focuses on immigrant populations from Burma, Laos and China. There are five centers in the mission that take in children aged 7 to 19 from the mountain villages.These young people attend state schools near the uals the centers were built, and this is the only chance for them to have a school education.
The mission is also involved in visiting the sick and differently abled, taking care of rice production and management (so that there is never a shortage in any home), providing help in building houses and supplying water to villages, and supporting the establishment and operation of schools in places where the state is still lacking.{:}
