Plastic Bottle Caps Open Up Future For Youth

Officials at Italy’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs had strongly advised them against travelling to South Sudan. Less than 24 hours before the flight the couple received a phone call from the Ministry advising them not to go, saying “it is dangerous, and we cannot guarantee your safety.” But Marta Genova, a journalist, and her husband Antonino Costa, a photographer, cared so much about this beautiful story. And despite the warning, they loaded their suitcases with equipment, passion, and faith, and took their flight to Juba, South Sudan, so they could document and share their story about the "Open Caps" project through their journalistic efforts.

It all began in a small village of just over a thousand people in the province of Palermo, a place called Villaciambra at the Don Bruno di Bella Oratory of the parish of Maria Santissima del Rosario. During Sunday Mass, Marta and Antonino sat in the Church pews and after the blessing, they heard the parish priest speaking about the collection and sale of these plastic bottle caps with a 'miraculous' consideration. They are used to finance charitable initiatives for poor people in difficult circumstances.

This time they have focused their solidarity and given hope to children in a village near the capital of South Sudan, offering them scholarships at the "Secondary School Bro. Augusto Memorial College.” The institution makes up part of a number of projects sponsored by the Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI) through its Committee and Service for Charitable Action in the Developing World. Projects also include the construction of the nearby Good Shepherd Peace Centre, where Marta and Antonino stayed during their trip, and the Catholic University of South Sudan. "Today there is more need than ever to share good news stories, and this is one! We journalists have a duty to show the world the other side of the coin as well,” exclaims Marta as she explains the whole process that turns bottle caps into money used to educate those where illiteracy is rampant, as it is here.