Together we can do great things. Together we have the strength to overcome even the most difficult moments. This is the message that emerged loud and clear this morning, April 20th, at the party that the Asilo Azzaroli nursery school organized to say thanks to all the people, bodies, foundations, businesses and associations that they helped it recover after last year’s flood had submerged it.
Around 200 people, including from different parts of Italy, gathered in the large park of the school in via Mazzini 31 in Sant’Agata sul Santerno, for a day in which moments of emotion, remembrance and joy alternated.
What happened
On May 17, the school was hit hard by the waters of the Santerno river which reached a height of 1 meter and 80 centimetres, destroying the entire ground floor, the facilities and the large park. However, from the first days after the flood, great solidarity was triggered: there were those who shoveled the mud, those who sent games and furniture for the children, those who organized fundraisers, those who gave sums of all kinds, those who called to provide comfort. All this allows the bodies that manage the school – Fondazione Asilo Azzaroli, Solco Ravenna and Progetto Crescita – to immediately have the resources available to rebuild.
As long as the school is unusable, the Parish of Villa San Martino is available to host the 73 children and their teachers in order to continue the teaching activity. Renovation work begins in the summer of 2023. On November 6, 2023, children can return to their renovated school. The final, less urgent works will be completed during this year’s summer break.
“2023 was a difficult year, but we made it – comments Caterina Castellari, coordinator of the Azzaroli Nursery School -. We made it above all because we were united and we had so much help and solidarity. From a bad experience like the flood we brought out everything that could be positive, we had many meetings and many new friendships were born. This thanksgiving party was overdue, because they thought about it from all over Italy and in every possible way. We had only spoken to many people on the phone and being able to meet today, all together, was truly exciting. And then our boys and girls deserved a moment of celebration.”
The role of the Azzaroli nursery school
The Azzaroli nursery school turns 98 this year. For the Municipality of Sant’Agata it is the only nursery school. “Having reopened the School after the flood is a gift that we also gave to its founder, Giovanna Azzaroli – underlines Don Renzo Tarlazzi, president of the Azzaroli Foundation -. If there hadn’t been such great energy this wouldn’t have been possible. We must be grateful. With everyone’s help we managed to ensure that the Azzaroli nursery school was among the first in the municipality of Sant’Agata sul Santerno to reopen and we made sure that the municipal nursery school could also be hosted here, for help the parents of the children and give a sign of hope and restart in a city that has been so hard hit.”
Damage and reconstruction
The damage caused by the flood exceeded 530 thousand euros. Thanks to the funds and the solidarity received, it was possible to proceed quickly with the reconstruction and make some improvements and modernizations. The works concerned in particular: the garden (for a sum of 97 thousand euros); plant engineering (102 thousand euros); the roof (75 thousand euros), which will be renovated in the summer to allow the installation of a photovoltaic system; masonry and sanitation works (95 thousand euros); the furnishings and classrooms (59 thousand euros); the living room (35 thousand euros); the kitchen (31 thousand euros); the offices (15 thousand euros); electronics (21 thousand euros).
“A community without asylum is a community that is missing a fundamental piece – highlights Antonio Buzzi, president of Solco Ravenna -. It was important to save the Azzaroli nursery school because children are the future of the community and they need a safe and stimulating space and environment where they can grow, train and spend moments of joy and serenity. This reconstruction was also an important signal for this city that has been so hard hit, a signal that together we can do it. Private social workers, businesses, citizens, volunteers and institutions together can overcome difficult moments that sometimes seem impossible to resolve. This is a message that we must keep clear not only in extraordinary moments, but also in ordinary times, because together we can do everything better.”
Thanks
The party was organized to say “Thank you” to anyone who has had a thought for the Azzaroli nursery school, a list that exceeds hundreds of people, bodies, associations, foundations and businesses. The School donated souvenirs made by the children to all the people present and on behalf of all the donors they were thanked with the “Madonna dell’Alluvione” created by the Bottega Gatti of Faenza: Fism – Italian Federation of Nursery Schools; Cesvi Foundation; Eurocompany; Mazzari distilleries; Libertà, the Piacenza newspaper; Rotary Ravenna; Lions Ravenna; Assimochus; Bcc Ravenna, Forlì and Imola; Don Claudiu Gherghel, Parish Priest of Sant’Agata and Villa San Martino; Villa San Martino Foundation; Vises; Cassa di Risparmio and Banca Del Monte di Lugo Foundation; Adei Wizo Association; Elisabetta Pirazzini and Greta Missiroli representing the children’s parents.
The president of the Emilia-Romagna Region Stefano Bonaccini, the mayor of Sant’Agata sul Santerno Enea Emiliani, the president of Confcooperative Romagna Mauro Neri were also present and spoke at the party.
THE INTERVENTIONS OF THE AUTHORITIES
Enea Emilia, Mayor of Sant’Agata sul Santerno
“Our municipality has experienced dramatic days and being able to meet again on a beautiful and exciting day means a lot for our community. Sant’Agata was completely destroyed, all the symbolic places of the town were destroyed, starting from the town hall, the schools, the sports facilities. Being here today to celebrate the restart is, therefore, a very positive thing. The municipal administration, despite the drama we were experiencing in the days following the flood, had an objective: not to interrupt the educational and scholastic process of our children, due to the importance of the process and to give them normality in the enormous drama that we were living. When the Azzaroli nursery school reopened in November, after just 6 months, it also found spaces for our municipal nursery. A huge team effort was made. It was done thanks to a push that came from below. We, as a small municipality, found ourselves faced with something huge with the flood, but no one gave up and the outburst of solidarity from everyone, near and far, was overwhelming. I still have in mind the scenes of the young people who came to Sant’Agata to help the people of Sant’Agata get back on their feet. In those dramatic moments where the state is a slower machine to arrive, there were people to lend us a hand. It was vital for us.”
Mauro Neri, president of Confcooperative Romagna
“It’s a pleasure, I’m honored to be here, It’s one of the first inaugurations we’re doing after what happened. We as Confcooperative are honored to have the Solco Consortium among our members, one of the main ones in the social world. This celebration smells of the future, because here there are children who are the future of our communities. Our association has been close to cooperatives, both from an economic and moral point of view. There were companies faced with important choices, because when you see the destruction you don’t know if you have the strength to continue and having a trade association that supports you is important.”
Stefano Bonaccini, president of the Emilia Romagna Region
“Last year’s flood was a flood never recorded in the history of this country. We are talking about 4 and a half billion cubic meters of water discharged in a few days, it is as if 11 Ridracoli dams had been discharged all together on one territory. It was among the 3 most catastrophic events in the world of 2023 in terms of damage. However, you people from Romagna, like the people from Emilia just under 12 years ago, have demonstrated the ability to roll up your sleeves in the face of tragedies, we saw you cry and scream, but the next day you were with your boots on and shovel in hand shoveling the mud. Romagna started immediately and strong. Consider that in 2023, despite the flood, a historical record was surpassed that of 2022. In 2022, 83 billion euros of exports from Emilia-Romagna to the world were exceeded, in 2023 we exceeded 85 billion euros. The second region is Veneto and the third Lombardy. This is thanks to the extraordinary companies we have in this region, the workers, the people who do research, who have been able to react. There are also positive numbers on tourism. It was one of our biggest concerns and instead we closed 2023 with almost 62 million tourist presences, compared to 45 million in 2014. This land is strong and resilient.”
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