Over the last 2 months, our Italian member Diaconia Valdese (Waldensian Diaconia) has organised a large number of fundraising dinners across the country to raise funds for the victims of the devastating earthquake, which struck central Italy on August 24.
The events have been organised in cooperation with local Waldensian and Methodist churches in Piedmont, Lombardy, Lazio and Sicily, and saw the participation of about 400 community members, friends and citizens.
The latest dinner has been marked with a very particular character. The dinner was organised by the Waldensian Guesthouse in Pachino, Sicily, along with local associations, schools and asylum seekers and migrants living in the guesthouse. The event was both a success in terms of funds raised (almost 5,000 euros) as well as cooperation and intercultural dialog among different communities living in the area.
The guesthouse is part of OpenEurope, a joint project of Diaconia Valdese, Oxfam Italia and Borderline Sicily aimed at providing material and legal support to asylum seekers arriving in Sicily.
Find out more about the project here (IT).