This is the story of Ahmed (a fictional name), a 19-year-old Egyptian young man who arrived in Italy at the age of sixteen and a half. Today, he works part-time with a permanent contract in a café. He lives in Rome, hosted in a SAI center, where he will remain until he turns 21—a result achieved thanks to the determination of his volunteer guardian.
Ahmed is the eldest of three children and the only boy; his mother recently passed away, and his father has irregular employment. To support his family and repay the debt incurred for his journey to Europe, Ahmed regularly sends them the money he earns. Due to a difficult life from an early age, Ahmed is illiterate and never attended school, although he has always shown a lively and energetic nature.
His journey to Italy ended in Rome in September 2023, after crossing the sea, stopping in Lampedusa and briefly in Perugia, from where he fled to reach the capital. In Rome, he was first placed in an Initial Reception Center and later transferred to a group home in Ciampino. The Juvenile Court assigned him a volunteer guardian, who would soon become a crucial figure, especially during the delicate transition to adulthood.
During his time in care, Ahmed’s school enrollment produced limited results, eventually leading to a diagnosis of ADHD. Nonetheless, he successfully completed a baking course. His stay in the facility was at times turbulent, with the guardian often called upon to mediate between the boy—naturally exuberant—and the staff.
As his 18th birthday approached, the guardian strongly pushed for the request for administrative continuation (Article 13), an application the group home was reluctant to file due to Ahmed’s poor compliance with rules and his temperament. With full support from the Department, the guardian succeeded in submitting the request.
Upon turning 18, Ahmed was discharged and provisionally hosted in a CARI center in Rome. The Juvenile Court’s favorable decision finally opened the doors of the SAI center in Laurentina, where he also began regular sessions with the center’s psychologist.
In June, a family friend offered Ahmed a job in a fruit shop in Turin. Despite strong pressure from his family of origin, the guardian—while warning him about the risk of exploitation—encouraged him to go, convinced that everyone must make their own experiences. Ahmed made the trip and completed a trial day in Turin, living in a small apartment with ten fellow countrymen. That experience was enough: the initial excitement faded, and he decided to return. Back in Rome on Monday morning, the first person he called was his former guardian, who picked him up at Tiburtina station and brought him, as Ahmed explicitly requested, a tuna and tomato sandwich, reaffirming himself as a familiar figure of comfort and important support.
In August, a sign of their deep bond: Ahmed spent his summer holidays in Calabria with the guardian and his family, who, after some initial hesitation, welcomed him as a guest of the home.
Today Ahmed has just turned 19 and celebrated his birthday with friends. His former guardian, though no longer formally assigned to him, was the guest of honor—confirming himself as a stable and essential point of reference in the young man’s life.