Canosa di Puglia, the virtuous company that gives a 600 euro bonus for school books

In the pay envelope money to pay for school books. A new form of corporate welfare. "That report card chosen as a document instead of a passport, testified that he wanted to tell us that he was a good person, that he was thirsty for life. Instead, we drowned his desire to design a future based on study. To him, who remained nameless but became a symbol of a denied tomorrow, we decided to name the school grant for our employees'.

The voice of Sergio Fontana, number one of Farmalabor, a company in Canosa di Puglia, runs fast as always. Even when he tells of what has been decided in the corridors and offices of the leading company in the distribution of raw materials for pharmaceutical use. Starting from the school year that will soon begin, employees with a low Isee level will be given a contribution of EUR 600 in their pay envelope for the purchase of school books.

The bonus is dedicated to the memory of a migrant from Mali who died at sea at the age of just 14, in April ten years ago, while trying, crossing the Mediterranean, to reach a safe harbour from which to begin designing tomorrow. His remains have returned an image as sweet as it is strong. For in the pocket of the jacket he was wearing was found his report card. A sheet sewn like a label with the grades he had achieved in the subjects he had studied in a country poor in riches and dreams that had made him a traveller of the future. He failed, however, to touch land. "That drowning could not be forgotten and is a warning, the umpteenth for all of us," Fontana continues, talking about the company welfare measure. "A total of around 20 employees are recipients, among them are those who are single-income and have three children to send to school," explains the entrepreneur who is also president of Confindustria Puglia. 'In the past, those who lived on one salary managed not only to support their children's dreams but also to have a house of their own,' he reflects, 'today instead they are almost on the breadline. The fear is that it is the school that loses out'.

The measure concerns each of the employees' children enrolled in primary and secondary school. "From the first grade of middle school to the fifth year of high school, in other words," Fontana specifies, pointing out that "we want to make it clear that corporate culture can translate into real attention to people".

The initiative was praised by the Minister of Education, Giuseppe Valditara, who sent Farmalabor a letter in which he described the measure as 'a valuable example of far-sighted and supportive company policies, capable of strengthening the link between school and society, between training and the productive fabric, between work culture and solidarity'. Of the Malian migrant who drowned with his dreams, Valditara says that it is the "testimony of the universal value of education to establish a culture of peace, cooperation and development among peoples". "The minister's appreciation honours us and encourages us to continue on our path of social responsibility," Fontana concludes.