Father Giuseppe Berton (1932 – 25 June 2013) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

of the Catholic Church, a member of the

Xaverian Missionary Fathers Guido Maria Conforti (30 March 1865 – 5 November 1931) was a Roman Catholic Italian archbishop who founded the Xaverian Missionaries (S.X.) on 3 December 1895. He was known to make frequent visits to his parishes and worked to support the re ...

, who worked in

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

from 1971 until his death.

Biography

Born in

Marostica Marostica (; ), is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, northern Italy. It is mostly famous for its live chess event and for the local cherry variety. History Between the 11th and 13th centuries, the locality was greatly ...

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...

, on 5 February 1932. He was the founder of the Family Homes Movement (FHM) which provided parental care and education to children in particular need; during the civil war, Berton and FHM saved and rehabilitated into social life more than 3000

child soldiers Children in the military, including state armed forces, non-state armed groups, and other military organizations, may be trained for combat, assigned to support roles, such as cooks, porters/couriers, or messengers, or used for tactical adv ...

. Berton is the central figure of the documentary

La Vita Non Perde Valore ''La vita non perde valore'' (''Life does not lose its value'') is a 2012 in film, 2012 documentary film about the reintegration into society of former child soldiers in Sierra Leone. The documentary has been analyzed in different Universities, be ...

(''Life does not lose its value''), for which the director Wilma Massucco was awarded the 2014 Maria Rita Saulle Award. With Roberto Ravera, Director ASL 1 Imperiese, Italy, Berton co-founded the FHM ITALIA Onlus, the Italian counterpart of FHM Sierra Leone, which applies the latest scientific theories in psychology and psychopathology to the rehabilitation and social integration of abandoned children. Berton died on 25 June 2013 at the mother house of the Xaverians in

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

Documentaries

*DVD Life does not lose its value (Original title, Italian language
''La vita non perde valore''
, by Wilma Massucco (ITA/ENG - 53' - Bluindaco Productions © 2012): it focuses, ten years after the war ending, on the reintegration, led by Father Giuseppe Berton, of former

, after they lived for long in the forest, together with the rebels of the RUF,

Revolutionary United Front The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) was a rebel group that fought a failed eleven-year war in Sierra Leone, beginning in 1991 and ending in 2002. It later transformed into a political party, which still exists today. The three most senior surv ...

. Main focus of the Documentary: is it possible to overcome suffering, even when it is huge and deep like child soldiers' one? If so, in which way? The documentary has been analyzed in different Universities, becoming subject of various degree thesis.
Dvd ''Infanzia rubata, bambini soldato''
child soldiers in Sierra Leone (ITA - Videomission © 2000), directed by Fiorenzo Raffaini

Contributions to other Documentaries

*Father Giuseppe Berton is one of the persons interviewed in the 2000 Documentary Film ''Cry Freetown'', by Sorious Samura.

Sorious Samura Sorious Samura (born 27 October 1963) is a Sierra Leonean journalist. He is best known for two CNN documentary films: '' Cry Freetown'' (2000) and ''Exodus from Africa'' (2001). The self-funded ''Cry Freetown'' depicts the most brutal period of th ...

''The Film was produced with the assistance of CNN Productions an
Insight News Television
'. ''Some of the baby soldiers interviewed by Sorious Samura in ''Cry Freetown'' and recovered by Father Berton are the same interviewed, in 2012, ten years later, in the Documentary Life does not lose its value. *He has been many times subject of Italian National TV Channel. See for example
RAI TV Channel 3, Agenda del Mondo, puntata del 12 Nov 2011
an

References

;Additional sources * *

External links

* participated by Father Giuseppe Berton and the psychologist Roberto Ravera, in Modena (Italy - Teatro Tempio - November 2012) * Video interview with Father Giuseppe Berto
How to develop no feeling of separation between "the ones" and "the others"?
b
Wilma Massucco
fo
Eugad project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berton, Giuseppe 1932 births 2013 deaths People from Marostica Italian Roman Catholic missionaries Children in war People of the Sierra Leone Civil War Roman Catholic missionaries in Sierra Leone Italian expatriates in Sierra Leone