Ridaje

There’s always a second Chance.

Ridaje helps to include back into society Rome’s homeless people by training them as urban gardeners and empowering them. The objective of the startup is to give them back their dignity, the people are trained to take care of abandoned public green spaces in the city, thus providing gardening services and requalifying the city.

More than 14.000 homeless people live in Rome, due to unemployment 34% of them have been homeless for more than 5 years.

Ridaje selects homeless people and, aside from: training them on the maintenance of green spaces; on work safety and on all the needed technical skills, it also gives them motivational and work and personal ethical moments, to totally involve them in Ridaje’s mission.

These people are also given a room in an apartment, to give them the opportunity to move away from the streets and embark on a path of re-appropriation of their identity.

Ridaje is not merely a destination for these people, but it’s a bridge: the ultimate goal is to find a job. Ridaje is a starting point to become independent, and above all it helps them to acquire self-awareness: they can contribute to a better world, which means that they can also aspire to a better life; the transcendent desire is realized in the work of perfecting oneself and of society as a whole.

Through Ridaje you can adopt the municipal green areas of the Roman territory, which will then be cared for by homeless people who are legally hired and trained.

The project is aimed at companies, neighborhood committees and associations, which by adopting public areas will perform a strong socially impacting action, taking care of Rome and giving another chance to those in need.

WEBSITE: www.ridaje.com