Solidarity does NOT burn

On the night between November 27 and 28, an arson attack destroyed “Alessia nel Paese delle Meraviglie” (Alessia in Wonderland), the school library of the Istituto Omnicomprensivo Pestalozzi in Catania (Italy).

It was a special space dedicated to little Alessia, a girl from Pestalozzi who passed away prematurely some time ago. It was established last May thanks to the commitment and operational and ethical synergy of the school community, local organizations, families, students, and the teachers who daily uphold values such as democracy, legality, and inclusion for the growth and future of their students.

For many young people, this place represented one of the few gateways to books, curiosity, and the possibility of imagining a different future. The fire destroyed shelves, books, educational materials, and furniture, rendering the library unusable. But the damage is not only evident in the library: the school complex is now unusable, and students cannot attend school.

Despite the shock, the school community has reacted with dignity and the request to restart as soon as possible. Today, that space has been destroyed by the flames. The hope for the future is fractured. Rebuilding the library and restoring the complex means much more than just refurnishing a room: it means defending the right to education and combating school dropout in an area that fights every day to build a different future.

Teach For Italy, which has been collaborating with the school for two years and has 4 active teachers within the Institute, has decided to launch the crowdfunding campaign “Solidarity does NOT burn” to support the educational community of the Pestalozzi Institute and reactivate school activities as soon as possible, ensuring the right to education again for all the children in the complex and rebuilding the “Alessia nel Paese delle Meraviglie” library.

To do this, immediate and costly interventions are needed, estimated at around €170,000, which include the urgent cleanup of the school environments, the restoration of the floor affected by the fire, and thus the reconstruction of the library with the purchase of all educational materials and furniture that allow for a safe and worthy use of the spaces.

Every contribution, small or large, will allow the young people of Catania to physically return to school and have a place of their own where they can grow and imagine a better future.

We are and will remain by the side of the school and the entire community to continue the work we started. We invite everyone to contribute to this crowdfunding campaign, not only to get the students back into the classroom and rebuild the library, but to defend the right to quality education for all. This cowardly attempt at intimidation will not scratch the community's desire for a future and motivates us, if anything, to further intensify our commitment to education as a lever for justice and liberation.

• To participate in the crowdfunding: https://sostieni.link/39551

• For information about the crowdfunding and to share the campaign: info@teachforitaly.org