“I believe we are brought into this world to make a difference where we are able, and make things better wherever we can. This is a shared planet. We must have respect for the people in it, those in our immediate circle of family and friends and those who are part of the wider family; our global community. I am extremely proud to be a part of some incredible organisations that are dedicated to making lives better.”
Dr Maurizio Bragagni.
Dr Bragagni sits at the head of a global business. It’s a position that offers a constant reminder that we are all international citizens, and, although we are all born equal, more can be done to create chances and choices—and educate to open opportunities.
Maurizio Bragagni works closely with several charitable causes and, in order to do more, founded a new charity www.esharelife.org, dedicated to funding education and vocational skills training for some of the world’s most disadvantaged children and young people.
“Respect for others is human nature, it’s in our DNA. I’m pleased to say that, for most people, helping others comes naturally.”
The development of Esharelife is the result of a natural desire to help people. As an entrepreneur and innovator, Dr Bragagni is all about problem-solving and finding new routes to helping build successful lives. And, he says, education sits at the roots of success. Once children and young people have access to education and skills, their life choices, their opportunities increase. Most are highly likely to want to help foster the same kind of chances and choices they benefited from for others in their families or communities.
His charity raises money to fund projects educating children and young people from some of the worst slums in Kenya. Esharelife has built close links with the Italian charity AVSI which has been working with the Kenya projects for years and continues to provide life-line funding for education programmes that are making a difference.
As a young man, Dr Bragagni began what was to be a lasting relationship with aid organisations. At just 18 he volunteered for the first time at a local food bank. He’s done it every year since. These days his family joins him to help out.
He is also a keen supporter of the UK’s leading mental health charity for veterans, Combat Stress. For almost a century Combat Stress has helped former servicemen and women deal with issues like trauma, anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Today, the charity provides support to veterans from every service and every conflict.
The charity is focused on the ‘invisible injuries’ sustained in conflict, injuries that can be just as hard to cope with as physical ones. So when a veteran is having a tough time, the charity is there to help tackle the past and to help them take on the future.