Dear Friends,
The National Board of Round Table Italy met on the 18th April in Portonovo (AN) and, as you can imagine, the main topic was the earthquake that hit the Abruzzo region two weeks ago. George Psaras, Round Table International President was also present and together various decisions were taken, which is all Tablers need to know about.
Having heard reports from the president of the 4th Areas and the president of Round Table Chieti, and from Antonio Scipione, Antonio Rovetti and George Psaras following their visit to the affected areas, the National Board has decided to work on a medium to long term project in conjunction with the Civil Protection agency and local authorities.
The idea is to build a school or kindergarten in one of the smaller areas hit by the earthquake. Take into consideration that it is presently impossible to work on short term projects since there are tremors still occurring and before all the debris is removed and safety procedures are satisfied, we cannot get involved in anything more than very small projects.
We have also set up a Guarantee and Control Commission so oversee these projects made up of the following:
Giuseppe Carulli – current President of RT Chieti
Roberto Ardizzi – current President of RT Pescara
Antonio Scipione – current National Secretary
Marco Bianchini – National Board member
This commission will evaluate and propose to the National Board, one or more projects to be financed from the funds currently being collected. Any decision will be done in collaboration with the Civil Protection, accerited voluntary associations, and local competent authorities. Our objective is to reach an amount of €300,000 and rebuild a school/kindergarten within a two year period.
The National Board has also agreed to place the amount of €30,000 in the fund and, following a proposal from the tables of Chieti and Pescara, to give €4,000 to the “Will Clown” association of Patch Adams (www.clownterapia.com), which as everyone has seen on all TV news reports, has been working no-stop 24hrs a day in all the affected areas and those areas where the displaced people are being hosted.
Thanks to the timely efforts of our IRO Antonio Rovetti and RTI President George Psaras €32,300 have already been collected from the RT Associations of Switzerland, Austria, India, Holland, Cyprus and Belgium. In addition to this amount are donations sent from various RT Italy Areas and individual Tablers.
Following the presentation of the reconstruction project various international Tables have confirmed their intention to send further amounts of money. All in all, with a quick round of emails, in one week we managed to have an amount of €70,000 available; without doubt a very encouraging start.
Since over the last few days, a number of Table and Areas Presidents have contacted me to find out how best to help the local populace, this is what has been agreed:
The Tables and Areas are free to organise any type of event with the aim of collecting funds which we kindly ask you to deposit these amounts in the account detailed below with a note that they are ‘for the reconstruction of Abruzzo’. The same applies for anyone wanting to make personal donations.
IBAN: IT71S0548412302044570420776
BIC Swift: CIVIIT2C
In the name of: Round Table Italia
With regards to those Tables wanting to help directly (collection books, clothes, and school materials) – please avoid foodstuffs since there is more than enough already – or other initiatives, are asked to contact the President of Round Table Pescara, Roberto Ardizzi (robertoardizzi@totalconsult.it), who will coordinate these efforts in all aspects. The Commission will proceed with total openness and will report to the National Board, the Italian Tables and the foreign Tables on every development; it also stands to reason that they are open to hear from any Tabler who wishes to get an update on the works in progress or to give them and suggestions.
At this point the reconstruction project is no longer a Round Table Italy project but also a Round Table International project.
One last note: over the next weeks, the media attention on the earthquake will necessarily diminish, till within a month’s time nothing will be heard about it. The National Board of Round Table Italy has agreed to a target of €300,000; it is an ambitious objective, but now we really need to show what we are worth and that we are able to overcome this challenge all together.
Thank you for your collaboration,
Yours in Table
For the National Board of RT Italy
Nicola Ciccarelli, National President
Marco Bianchini, National Board Member
Antonio Rovetti, National IRO