Earthquake in Syria and Turkey

Specchio d’Italia, the foundation close to the Gedi publishing group, is launching a subscription to help the people affected by Sunday night’s earthquake in Syria and Turkey, making €50,000 available immediately.

The aim is to bring practical help in the areas of schools, care for children and the elderly, support for families and small businesses. We will try, as always, to be close to those who are most in need, to give concrete help as quickly as possible to get life back to normal.

You can pay here by credit card and Paypal. Or you can pay with a bank transfer to the current account in the name of Fondazione Specchio d’Italia Onlus Iban code IT82 F030 6909 6061 0000 0176 056 or with a Post Office money order on postal account number 1051722237 in the name of Fondazione Specchio d’Italia, via Brentano 2, 20121, Milan. Reason for payment: ” Terremoto Turchia-Siria “.

All payments, except cash payments, are tax deductible.

For Marche Region

Hundreds of donations to Specchio to help flooded populations

Hundreds of donations in the first 24 hours of the subscription opened by Specchio d’Italia. The generosity of the Italians responded with enthusiasm to the appeal that rises from the municipalities of the Marche affected by the flood on Thursday. Among the many online donations, many are accompanied by an encouraging phrase. From “the sun will return and you will be stronger than before” by Giuseppe to “a hug from Turin” by Ivana, to the many “you are not alone”. Donations arrived from all over the peninsula: from Bolzano to Taranto, from Genoa to Trapani. A strong example of solidarity.

Already in the middle of next week, once the available resource has been sized, Specchio d’Italia will choose where and how to carry out its interventions. In about ten days we plan to highlight the objectives and start distributing aid.

To the pain for the many, too many deaths, there were in fact very heavy damages in the municipalities of Senigallia, Barbara, Ostra, Trecastelli Cantiano and Sassoferrato already appear to be huge at a very first evaluation. While the families who have had their homes devastated by the fury of the Misa, Sentino and Nevola streams are hundreds: the water in the house in fact brings destruction with irreparably compromised wooden furniture and household appliances to be thrown away

Thus Specchio d’Italia (which operates throughout Italy thanks to the experience of Specchio dei Tempi, the foundation already very close to the Marche after the earthquake of 6 years ago with the construction of all the schools and the gym in Arquata del Tronto) decided an immediate allocation of 10,000 euros to which hundreds of donations are being added that everyone can make to support the communities affected by this drama.

It is possible to donate on specchioditalia.org with a credit card and Paypal. Or it can be paid by bank transfer to the current account in the name of Fondazione Specchio d’Italia Onlus Iban code IT82 F030 6909 6061 0000 0176 056 or by postal order to the postal current account number 1051722237 in the name of Fondazione Specchio d’Italia, via Brentano 2, 20121, Milan. Reason: “Per le Marche”. All payments, except cash, are tax deductible.

Info: info@specchioditalia.org

For the People of Ukraine

Immediate aid for war refugees

Millions of displaced people, families forced to split up, children shattered by violence. Cities devastated and lives suddenly turned upside down. Faced with the horror of the war in Ukraine, many readers asked us to help this tormented population. So, in the most dramatic days of the conflict, we opened a fundraising campaign. Thousands of donations arrived in just a few weeks. Here is how we are using them.

In Cernivci, Ukraine, 30 kilometres from Romania, we have built the “Villaggio di Specchio d’Italia”, a 1,500 square metre tensile structure that receives over 1,800 people every day and provides them with hot meals and shelter. In the village there are clinics, kitchens, beds, games for children and an air-raid shelter made available to us by the local administration. An indispensable project: many families, despite having lost everything due to the bombs, do not want to leave and move away from their homeland. But that’s not all: hundreds of refugees welcomed in Italy in the first weeks are now asking to return to Ukraine, to areas of the country where they can finally live in safety. This is why we have activated a free shuttle service to facilitate repatriation.

In the first phase of the emergency, we sent dozens of shuttles, buses and trucks loaded with food, medicines and basic necessities to the Polish and Romanian borders. On our return, we accompanied the families fleeing the violence back to Italy, saving over 600 people, including 400 children, and delivering hundreds of tonnes of humanitarian aid.

We are also offering immediate financial assistance to the most vulnerable families who have arrived in Italy. In Palermo, for example, we have supported Elisabetta, a severely disabled girl who landed in Sicily with her mother after the outbreak of war. Like young Vlad, who is fighting multiple sclerosis at the age of 16: we accompanied him to our country and gave him a grant and a tablet device.

All initiatives are carried out in synergy with our sister foundation Specchio dei tempi, which has been appointed by the Piedmont Region to coordinate fundraising and the development of solidarity projects in favour of displaced persons. Specchio dei tempi has over 60 years of experience in such emergency contexts.

A bionic leg for Richi

“My dream? Having a bionic leg in order to lead a normal life”. Riccardo Battista, known to all as Richi, with shaved hair due to chemo, a passion for cycling, will turn 21 on November 24th. “For that day I will no longer have the right leg. They’ll amputate it next week. I have a prosthesis but I can’t bend it: the pain is unbearable, and after almost four years of suffering from the tumour that has also spread to the lungs, I can’t take it anymore “.

He says it remarkably calmly: for him it will be a liberation. He is experiencing an ordeal made up of severe diagnoses, surgical interventions, more than fifty chemotherapies, a stem cell transplant, continuous journeys between Sanremo and Pisa to follow endless treatments. And a lot of pain. The news of the amputation, which no child or parent would ever want to hear, came after a lump of flesh came out over the scars. The leg can no longer be saved.

Now Richi plucks up courage for the amputation thinking about his new bionic leg. But 150 thousand euros are needed. His family (father Luigi is a bricklayer, mother Miriam did the cleaning in a shopping centre, but she gave up her job to follow her 12-year-old son and little sister Silvia, who lost many days of school because she had to follow them on trips to hospital). “I feel a burden, I don’t go out with friends anymore: I would have liked to have been a mountain bike coach for children. Now I just hope to be able to walk again and maybe get on a bike”, says Richi.

A swollen knee: it all started with what seemed like a trivial fall from the bicycle. It was April 2018: Richi was 17 and had a passion for downhill bikes. Instead, they were the first symptoms of a highly malignant osteosarcoma. A tumour that disabled the right leg after two complicated grafts (first with donor bone, then with a megaprosthesis) to try to save the leg. Cancer cells have also moved into the lungs. Bad luck made him grow up too fast and now he just wants to go back to living like a boy his age. In almost four years there have been many trips from Sanremo to Pisa, to a specialized centre for bone tumours.

With his mother Miriam always at his side, he doesn’t get discouraged and looks ahead. He has chosen his dream leg. “It’s the Genium X3 – Richi points to it on the screen of his mobile phone and his eyes light up – We hope to be able to buy it: it costs more than one hundred thousand euros, but with the “accessories”, that is the foot, the ankle joint and the part to connect to the leg, the figure increases. If we also add travel, visits and treatments, we arrive at around 150 thousand euros”. Richi lowers his eyes. “We’ll never be able to do it alone”.

Learning of the amputation was a severe blow to the Sanremo family. “We expected it a little – still mum speaking – but you are never ready for these things. The problem arose from the megaprosthesis: it should be replaced, he cannot bend it, even by a few degrees, it hurts night and day. But it cannot be replaced because he no longer has any tissue or muscle. It is important for him to be able to get back on his feet and be able to walk again. Let’s help Richi get back to living like a 20-year-old boy: he has already lost almost 4 years between hospitals, chemotherapy and invasive operations. This amputation will have to be seen by him as a sign of rebirth, although it will not be easy, as he must also keep the nodules in his left lung under control. He has always been a boy full of life: bad luck made him grow up too quickly. But is he always smiling and continues to fight”.

Haiti Earthquake

Hundreds of deaths, an almost non-existent health system, armed gangs that hinder rescue with robberies and kidnappings, the terrifying earthquake (7.1) that devastated Haiti on the eve of August 15th requires everyone’s attention. This is why we at Specchio d’Italia immediately opened a fundraiser together with our sister non-profit organization Specchio dei tempi: because we already experienced, eleven years ago, the drama of the previous earthquake (less violent, but with the capital Port Au Prince as its epicenter, therefore with thousands of deaths). With Specchio dei tempi we then intervened to support the activity of the Saint Camille Hospital in Port Au Prince, also contributing to the construction of a clinic in Jeremee, in the southernmost part of the island, which is today also the area most affected by the last earthquake.

“At the moment there are two priorities – explains Father Antonio Menegon – assistance to the wounded who often find themselves in villages completely devoid of basic medical facilities and the finding of housing alternatives to the destroyed houses. The first emergency is made more critical both by the roads that cross the tormented and mountainous area affected and by the presence of gangs of criminals who, after the recent political troubles in the country, have gained strength and are continually carrying out robberies, kidnappings and violence. Alongside the tragedy of the earthquake, here we must also deal with a profound social drama”.

Father Robert Daudier is the director of the Saint Camille Hospital: “The earthquake was very violent even in the capital, but it is in the Jeremee area that the situation is truly tragic. In fact, it is difficult to prune rescue by land because the Martissant area, along the way, has been in the hands of bandits for more than two months: they shoot passing cars, attack passers-by, kidnap those who can pay for something, and whites they are the most at risk. We need help to overcome these difficult situations, perhaps even trying to use a helicopter. The population was no longer able to cope with these terrible socio-political conditions. And now the earthquake has arrived, with hundreds and hundreds of deaths, thousands of houses destroyed, tens of thousands of families in very serious difficulty, including food”.

Breakfast for the poor

 

At Casa Santa Luisa, hope passes through a cup of coffee. It is the miracle of “Breakfasts for the poor”: every morning at 7.15 am the sisters and volunteers of the Vincentian family offer a hundred needy people what for many of them will be the only meal of the day. Every year around 40 thousand breakfasts are served and every day Sister Cristina cultivates the same dream: “To open the door of our canteen and not find anyone waiting anymore”. 

The historic refectory in the centre of Turin, a stone’s throw from Porta Nuova station, is a point of reference for the homeless of the city. In addition to being able to eat a hearty breakfast, they can have a shower and receive clean clothes too. The whole activity is financed by Specchio dei tempi and by the readers of La Stampa. Recently the foundation has also donated a van for the transport of food and for home help for the poorest.  

Over the years, Specchio has also supported the refurbishment of four emergency housing units always in the same building. Then the works on the canopy for the courtyard, the new toilets and during the lockdown the signs and anti-contagion sanitary materials. The nuns and volunteers did not stop even in the face of the pandemic: they adapted to the new rules and social distancing, continued to care for the poorest. In addition to concrete help, they offered psychological support and fraternal closeness to their “Friends”. This is how the guests of Casa Santa Luisa are called and accompanied every day on a journey towards independence.

Coronavirus Emergency

When there is an emergency, we are always there. Therefore, for the Coronavirus we have been on the front line since the beginning of March, when the pandemic also exploded in Italy. Togheter with Specchio dei tempi, we have raised 11 million euros, with over 16 thousand donations from 70 countries around the world. Resources that immediately turned into practical projects for the health system, schools, small businesses, the elderly and families.

In the first weeks, to protect doctors, nurses and rescuers, we purchased and distributed over one million items of PPE to 136 companies in Piedmont: masks, gloves, gowns, caps, visors. We donated 150 pieces of equipment, including two CAT machines, to about twenty hospitals in the area. Together with our partner Lavazza, we organized and financed a flight to bring 38 Cuban doctors and nurses, specialized in emergencies, to Italy: for months they worked in the Covid Hospital set up at the OGR in Turin.

To help the elderly, we delivered 5,400 free shopping packages in the first weeks of the lockdown. We have brought food to 1000 needy Turin families and in 2020 we will help a total of 3000, with economic support. During summer we have been replicating the distribution of these food packages in six regions and twenty cities: we have given away over 17,000 shopping packages to desperate families.

We have offered 250 schools practical resources to sanitize the environments; to encourage distance learning we have bought 1000 tablets with sim and Internet connection. They have been assigned to the poorest pupils. For small businesses in difficulty due to the lockdown we have allocated 1.6 million euros and 450 subsidies, promoting four tenders in Turin, Cuneo (near the Langhe), Venice and Sassari (in Sardinia). A fundamental contribution for artisans, traders and restaurateurs who are the soul of our cities and the symbol of made in Italy.

Digital and Equal

Having a computer means having a chance: the ability to build a future for yourself. In Italy, more than 30% of families do not have a PC or tablet: we are leaving more than 850,000 students behind. We want to help those boys and girls with the Digital and Equal project, a great fundraising to give students the laptops they need. Tools that will accompany them not only in these months of distance learning, but throughout their school and training journey.

Launched by YOOX together with the Gedi Group newspapers, the Specchio d’Italia Onlus Foundation and the Golinelli Foundation, the initiative aims to reduce inequalities and provide concrete aid to the new generations. The delay in digitalisation places Italy in 25th place out of 27 EU member countries for competitiveness and technological development. And thousands of kids, because of this gap, risk not being able to access professional opportunities where digital skills are key requirements. Everyone can support Digital and Equal and help buy laptops that will reach the pupils in need through schools. We will distribute them in the coming weeks and tell every phase of the project, from the collection of requests (info here) to the delivery to the institutes.

Come on grandparents!

A cheque to pay the most urgent bills, a bag of shopping to fill the empty fridge, help to do the cleaning for those who are left alone and can’t manage it anymore. “Forza nonni!” (“Come on grandparents!”) is a project born after the outbreak of the pandemic. When it suddenly became clear that the older ones had become much more fragile, and – unfortunately – because they were dying. Their life had suddenly become complicated and everything had become more difficult: from collecting medicines to maintaining a minimum of human relationships with their children and grandchildren.

Deep loneliness, marked by fear but also by despair. So we got going and identified the most fragile “over 80s” in Milan, Rome, Bari and Genoa, looking into every single situation in a prompt manner and checking the Isee forms, documents indicating financial situations. This is an experience already started in Piedmont in recent months by Specchio dei tempi, which the Specchio d’Italia foundation is now replicating in four other regions.

To support our elderly, we have launched an assistance programme that provides three different forms of help for each beneficiary: the delivery of the Thirteenth Salary of Friendship (the € 300 subsidy that every Christmas, since 1976, we have offered to thousands of elderly people); the donation of two bags of shopping a month left safely on the doormat; the assistance of a domestic worker for four hours a month. We also provide a constant telephone presence with moments of sharing and even psychological support if necessary. All ways to say “Come on grandparents: you are not alone!”.

donazioni onlus

Adopt a student

We have been present in Rwanda since 2019 with a project started by Specchio dei tempi for the children of Nganzo which we are now carrying on together with the donors of Specchio d’Italia. In this village, we learned all about the problems of Rwandan schools: here the classes have on average 65 pupils. Here only 65% of students complete schooling (2016 data, source Unicef). Here thousands of children get lost: the lessons are too expensive, the classrooms difficult to reach. The families are getting poorer and poorer.

Covid has made everything worse, so our contact person in Rwanda, Annamaria Zavagni Bergoglio and the head of the Catholic schools of the Rwandan CEI, Father Lambert Dusingizimana, asked us for help. For many children in the eastern province, school attendance is made increasingly irregular due to the Coronavirus pandemic, malaria and intestinal infections. It has always been limited during the rainy season, when moving around in these territories becomes almost impossible.

To allow children not to interrupt their studies, the institutes are equipped with guest rooms, where the little ones live far from their parents but close to desks and blackboards. Hospitality in these structures doubles the costs for families: if it costs 150 euros for a year of school fees, when you add the boarding school you need 300. Huge figures for those who have nothing.

Then there are the children who never leave the boarding school: the deaf-mute children, whom no one comes to pick up at the end of the term. They (and many other needy children, with or without disabilities) are looked after by the missionary nuns who manage most of the schools in the area, including Kicukiro, Nyamirambo, Rulindo, Kigali, Musanze and Nyarugenge. Specchio d’Italia will be alongside each of these pupils in the coming months. We want to help them grow up; support them with practical interventions and with our friendship. Everyone can “adopt” them, financing their studies and giving them the possibility of a better future.

Earthquake in Central Italy

After the earthquake of 24 August 2016 in central Italy, we were immediately operational, first with the Specchio dei Tempi foundation and now with Specchio d’Italia. We chose Arquata del Tronto, the most affected town in the Marche region, with 51 deaths and enormous devastation. The work was intense, in perfect accord with the municipal administration and with the locals with whom a bond of trust and hope was born.

Our new anti-seismic eco-school in Arquata opened on 15 September 2017: it covers an area of 1000 square meters and hosts nursery, primary and secondary schools. It was created by the Wolf Haus of Vipiteno, a leading company in the sector. Designed to ensure maximum energy savings and the lowest environmental impact, as well as classrooms, offices and services, it also has a computer room, an industrial kitchen and a canteen. Each classroom is wired and equipped with a touch-screen whiteboard. The structure is covered by a 50-year guarantee and has a value of 2.6 million euros to which the urbanization costs of the area must be added.

Once the school was completed, we built a gym right next door, which was inaugurated in September 2018. It is built with materials tested in a “disaster room” that reproduces the most violent earthquakes ever recorded. It is an area of about 500 square meters, equipped with a regulation basketball and volleyball court, services and changing rooms. More than 16,000 donors from all over the world contributed, as well as companies such as Reale Foundation and Mail Boxes Etc. In total, around 3.7 million euros were raised. And our commitment to reconstruction continues: with a tender funded by Reale Immobili S.p.a. and intended for small entrepreneurs, to revive the local economy and provide a little practical help for the population, like cheques for newborns: 2000 euros for each child.

 

Girls’ village

In Sri Lanka, in the hinterland of Matara, about 12 kilometres from the coast, we built a village immediately after the 2004 tsunami. Five family homes, a medical centre, the small office building: initially it was used to give assistance to those who had suffered severe trauma and fractures in the tsunami. However, after a few years, these needs ceased and in agreement with the Sinhalese government and the Court of Matara, we decided to convert the facilities into a shelter for unfortunate girls. Thus, for over eight years, we have been hosting these little girls who have experienced abuse and abandonment first-hand.

It is our commitment against violence towards women: a practical project that we deal with every day, not just on the day of the “red shoes”. A project initiated by Specchio dei Templi and supported by Specchio d’Italia, unique in our country: it was also covered on TV by Rai3’s Kilimanjaro and our foundation wants to make it known throughout Italy.

Today there are about twenty girls, divided in the family homes that we are modernizing. In the village they have spaces to play and to study and every morning we take them to class with our school bus. We fully support the cost of the initiative that, in practice, is carried out by the Buddhist monks of the Oba Mama Association, led by Reverend Ratanasare, the spiritual leader of southern Sri Lanka.

Since 2017, we have also supported the Matara Orphanage. That is, an orphanage run by Buddhist monks on a court order. It currently hosts 13 children, more than half of them under 6 years old: from the child who lost both parents to cancer, to the one who never had his parents, to the one who was abandoned in hospital by his family only because he was sick. Then there are the “street children” who have been given a roof. We could not, and cannot, leave them alone.