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IBO Italia is a Non Governmental Organization of Christian inspiration operating in the field of national and international volunteer work. The network of which it is member began its operations in 1953 in northern Europe, with the first work camps serving to rebuild destroyed houses for World War II refugees. In fact, IBO is the Flemish acronym for Internationale Bouworde, which translates into "International Builder Society".
Located in Italy since 1957, IBO was officially established as an association in 1968 and was named suitable for work in in the field of international cooperation by the MFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) in 1972 (IBO was the first NGO in Italy to officially carry out an international-cooperation project approved by the MFA). Member of CCIVS ( Coordinating Committee for International Voluntary Service) since 1957 under the aegis of UNESCO, IBO has been registered in the Provincial Charity Registry since 2005 and united with Volontari nel mondo (Volunteers in the World) - FOCSIV since 1972.

Our history

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IBO Italia was born in Italy in 1957, thanks to Father Angelo Marcandella, a young priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart and the son of Italian emigrants in Belgium.
Father Angelo had followed the movement "International Builder Membership" since its creation in 1953 in Europe by another priest, Father Werenfried van Straaten, better known as "Bacon Priest." The Bacon Priest, who some years before founded the "Oostpriesterhulp" or " Church of the Silence" (today known as " Aid to the Church in Need") acquired this nickname for his engagement with poor German refugees of the Second World War who, after having escaped from the blasted cities at the end of the war, crowded together on the borders with Belgium and Holland. In his collecting campaigns, Father Bacon took everything that Flemish housewives could spare; above all bacon (which earn him the lifelong nickname of the "Bacon Priest") that he then gave to the evacuee families.
One Sunday morning, during the Mass, he gave some small holy pictures to the children and told them to hang them on the wall of their houses. Whereupon he saw a little girl crying and he asked her why she was so sad. The little girl replied that hers was one of five families living in a warehouse. Her family was in the centre and so there were not any walls; these words left him bewildered and started off the movement of the "International Builder Memberships". burundi Thus, Father Bacon decided to build houses for them, with the help of many young people who started to come from all over Europe to support us. Working teams of "white overalls", thanks the donation of thousands of white overalls from a German paint company, overran Europe up to Italy. Their aim was to build houses for who could not afford to buy one.
The first office of IBO Italia was in Cognola di Trento, then Pontenure (PC), Piacenza, Cesate (MI), Casalpusterlengo (LO), Cassana (FE) and now in in centre of Ferrara.
By the time, IBO Italia had become an official association (1968) and a Non-Governmental Organization (1972), when the first cooperation project in Zaire was carried out for the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1974, IBO Italia was one of the founding NGOs of Volontari nel Mondo - FOCSIV (Federation of Christian Organizations for International Volunteer Service), at that time, still FOLM (Federation of Lay Missionary Organizations).
To this day, IBO Italia conducts many projects in Latin America, Africa, Asia and thousands of work camps throughout Europe with the participation of tens of thousands of volunteers.