The earthquake of 24 August has taken a heavy toll on Central Italy, where 294 people died and over 2000 have been left without a home. Vita International has prepared a short guide to donating in a time of emergency. First of all, giving is an act of trust, for this reason, no matter whether the organization you decide to support is large or small , the important thing is that its work is verifiable and deserving.
Transparency will play a key role in the fundraising process, in order to prevent the dispersion of precious resources, at a time when thousands of people have lost everything. The goal is to avoid the Solidarity Jungle which wrote one of the worst pages in the history of the Italian non profit sector 13 years ago, after an earthquake killed 26 children with their teacher in San Giuliano, a small town in the Italian region of Molise. At the time, over 30 thousand fundraising websites were activated, but very little money were actually used to help the unfortunate families hit by the quake. Here is a list of organisations that are working on the ground, many of these have a strong track record for providing assistance and relief in
ActionAid
ActionAid Italy is supporting an independent civic initiative gruppoTerremotoCentroItalia which aims at promoting the sharing of information among the citizens affected by the earthquake. "The experiences of L' Aquila and Emilia Romagna will guide us in our work to ensure transparent information, listening to the citizens, attention to the most fragile, participation in the reconstruction," the organization wrote on its official website.
Anpas
The organisation has set up a camp and it’s possible to check out the day to day work of the volunteers online. Anpas also warns the supporters against fake campaigns. Some other indepentent fundraising campaigns in fact have been launched using the name of the organisation. The organisation invites anyone who wants to contribute to do so using the official organisation bank account.
Avis
Thousands of citizens have answered to the blood donation requests in the aftermath of the earthquake, but the commitment of the Italian blood donors association to help the quake victims did not stop there. After the experience gained on site, in the eartquake that hit L’Aquila back in 2009, when Avis managed a first-aid station on an evacuee camp, today the organisation is ready to offer its services to the survivors of this new tragedy.
CAI (Italian Alpine Club)
The areas that have been hit by the quake are close to the Appenine mountains of central Italy, for this reason the Italian Alpine Club has decided to support the populations affected by the earthquake.
Italian Caritas
“We have allocated 100,000 euro to provide for the immediate necessities and we are constantly in contact with the Caritas of Rieti, Fermo and Ascoli Piceno to monitor the needs and send the aids to the most affected areas” said don Francesco Soddu, director of the Italian Caritas. The Italian Catholic Church has announced a national collection on Sunday 18 September. It i salso possible to make online donations with the payment description: Terremoto centro Italia.
Cesvi
We have activated our contacts on the site to evaluate a first operation for the earthquake victims , in particular for the distribution of basic necessities," says Giangi Milesi, President of Cesvi." We want to put to use the experience we gained in the Haiti, Nepal and Emilia Romagna." Here the information to support the association's efforts .
Italian Jewsish Communities
The Union of the Italian Jewish communities ha salso launched an initiative. TheUcei’s bank account is IBAN - IT42B0200805205000103538743; description: offerta per emergenza terremoto.
Islamic Relief
The Union of the Italian Islamic Communities invites all communities and mosques to make their own contribution through the Islamic Relief Association. It’s also possible to follow the work of the volunteers on site on the organisation’s Facebook page.
Misericordie
"With the funds raised we would like to leave a tangible sign" said the head of Civil Protection of the Confederation of Mercy Alberto Corsinovi to Vita.it." We will discuss with the local communities and the local Church. But we would like to support a project that gives a concrete answer to a need . For example, a health center".Here is the information to donate and upgrade work done on site by volunteers .
Poste Italiane in collaboration with Italian Red Cross
A checking account is active for donations in favor of the inhabitants of the damaged centers ( Italian Post Office with Italian Red Cross - Earthquake of August 24, 2016 - IT38R0760103000000000900050 IBAN , BIC / SWIFT code to re - send transfers from abroad is BPPIITRRXXX ).
SMS 45500
The organization is working to set up a "child-friendly space" at Amatrice, and it is also considering the possibility to open other spaces in the most affected town. The objective of these places is to create a safe environment where teenagers and children can feel protected and receive the support they need to process the trauma just lived with the help of trained professionals. Here 's the link to the donations.
Slow Food
The organisation has launched the campaign '#unfuturoperamatrice, literally a future for Amatrice, in honor of the town where the famous past dish Amatriciana was created which was severely hit by the earthquake. Slow Food invites restaurant owners around the world to include this dish in their menus and keep it for at least a year. For each amatriciana consumed 2 euros will be donated for the reconstruction, 1 by the restaurant and 1 by the customer. " In this way we hope to keep the attention alive,” says Slow Food, “Those who lived this tragedy should be able to regain their normalcy as soon as possible, the funds allocated must be durable and constant.” The Iban of the municipality of Amatrice for payment is: IT 28 M 08327 73470 000 000 006 000 Description: Un futuro per Amatrice.
We World
As per the instructions of the Civil Defense in these moments you can not go to the places affected by the earthquake, but we are already in contact with the local communities to better evaluate our intervention and make available our experience, gained in dramatic contexts as earthquake in Emilia and in Nepal, in the long and difficult reconstruction phase." So said Marco Chiesara President of WeWorld Onlus, explaining the intention of the organization to engage in the post- emergency phase. Here the coordinates to make online donations and bank transfers.
Cover picture: FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/Getty Images
