THE PARTNER

ABF direct aid project

THE NETWORK

Special Commissioner for the Reconstruction from the Italian Government, Regional School Office (URS) of the Marche Region, Municipality of Muccia.

THE PROJECT

After building the ‘Giacomo Leopardi’ school in Sarnano, in the province of Macerata, inaugurated in May 2018 and built in just 150 days, the Andrea Bocelli Foundation launched a new project in Muccia, in the Marche region, to rebuild the “E. De Amicis” pre-school and elementary school destroyed by the earthquake swarm that hit Central Italy in 2016 and which continues to torment the area.

The project, whose beneficiaries will be pre-school and elementary students, saw the demolition of the remains of the old facility and the construction of the new building, which took place within a concerted action plan with the Special Commissioner for the Reconstruction and the Regional School Office (URS) of the Marche Region. The new permanent school was donated to the local administration as a “turnkey” project. As of today, in Muccia almost all households still live in container houses and children are still attending their classes in containers. 95% of the houses are not fit to live in, however there is a strong willingness and determination to remain in the area, which overcomes the issues and challenges posed by having to reorganize one’s daily life. This is the reason ABF has decided to give a key reference point back to this community: the school for the students and their families which will be a safe and functional facility offering a space for both educational and community activities.

ABF ACTIONS

The Andrea Bocelli Foundation – within a direct tender framework – will be in charge of the demolition and reconstruction works of the school, while coordinating activities with the central and local offices of the Special Commissioner for the Reconstruction.

THE CONTEXT

On August 24,  2016 at 3.36 am, a 6.0 magnitude earthquake hit Central Italy, namely the regions of Abruzzo, Lazio, Marche and Umbria. Thousands of people were involved in the event, which left 299 dead, several injured and caused serious damage throughout the regions in question.

On October 26 and 30, new violent shocks hit Central Italy, especially along the border between the Umbria and Marche regions. The tremor recorded on October 30 had a 6.5 magnitude and was the strongest to occur in Italy for the last 30 years: the number of people left unable to use their homes and the amount of damage grew exponentially, although there were no deaths.