The Guardian Angel of Abandoned Children

"Who a teacher really is, is more important than what he or she teaches", wrote the American psychiatrist Karl Menninger. And "You are a compassionate professor" is what some students have written about Gabriele Troilo, professor of the Marketing in creative industries course at Bocconi, who received a degree in Business Administration with focus on marketing from the Milanese university in 1990. "I think the humanity which my students are talking about comes from the attention I give to issues regarding relations, which I have refined through my experiences with La Gotita". With two other Bocconi professors - Emanuela Prandelli and Paolo Guenzi – and several friends, Troilo established this non-profit organization which operates in Bolivia, in two centers which welcome abandoned children. It all began in 2008, when Troilo was pushed by the desire to experience what it's like to be a volunteer. He left Italy for Bolivia with the idea to provide his services to a home for abandoned children. "I fell in love with their smiles, and for the two years following that first visit I wanted to go back any time I could manage." Oruro became his second home, and the children in the shelter became his family. Before each departure, Troilo would ask friends and family to help him buy everything that the little Bolivian children could need. They responded not only by supporting his initiatives, but also by encouraging him to create a group which could work in a more systematic way. "That's how La Gotita was born: a small non-profit which, one step at a time, contributes to improving the lives of about 100 children".

This experience began with a physical-psychological therapy project for children with disabilities, and continued with the building of a playground and rebuilding the roof of the building which houses the center. "The project cost 150 thousand euros, and thanks to the Arcò architecture studio, we created a covering of plants whose draining layer includes 400,000 plastic caps which we gathered from local schools. The work was completed with large Plexiglas skylights which not only allow the light to come in, but also recreate a greenhouse effect, which heats the building. Winters in Oruro are freezing". Troilo's dream is to be able to help accompany the kids into the work world, once they turn 18, since they are still very emotionally fragile when they leave the community. And this is how we can see him once again in the role of teacher, in the sense of being a guide... even though he tries hard to keep this commitment from becoming an extension of his professional life: "when I first arrived at the center, I was asked if I wanted to teach. I answered 'no', and simply started playing with the kids".