What Happened in Senigallia : And How You Can Help
After many months, or as it is the case for some of us, for the first time ever, we as the Rotaract Mediterranean family have gathered together in Senigallia, Italy. Before the main event, the HOC Team hosted some of the visitors in Pescara, welcoming them with the marvellous views of Italy, and with some delicious Italian food, and after Senigallia some moved on to Bologna for the post-event, having been greeted by another HOC Team, and had the chance to discover the colourful Romagna’s city.
After the guests have arrived in Senigallia, from their respective countries such as Lebanon, Turkey, the UK, France, Canada Egypt and Spain, we’ve had the opportunity to discover the city of Senigallia with the HOC Team, specifically the Rocca Roveresca (Della Rovere’s Castle) and its history.
Towards the end of the second day however, we received some tragic news. What we thought as rainy weather turned out to be a massive flood that has surrounded the entire city. Thankfully our safety was ensured, and we have kept each other company, with the HOC always by our side. As we had no way in or out, we carried on with our Workshop regarding Women in Art, Science and Sport; and the next morning with the Peace Forum.
After that, we received the news regarding the absolute severity of the situation. About fifty people were injured and many of the shops and houses were severely damaged. Eleven people have lost their lives during the flood, including sadly a child, and at least one person remains still missing. Tragically, the body of the little child has been recovered twelve kilometres away from the last sighting, which displays how serious the impact of this tragedy had been.
Out of respect to those who have lost their lives, and to those who have suffered irreparable loss and severe trauma, this article is mainly focused more on what we can do as Rotaractors instead of the M2R itself.
Especially during times like these, we should hold onto each other more than ever and share the grief and loss of our Italian friends, and support them in any way we can. Rotaract has an admirable history of running to each other’s assistance, so once again we should be there for each other as much as we can.
District 2090, which covers the affected area, has already been involved with relief efforts, launching a campaign named ‘Uniti per le Marche’ (‘United for Marche’), and they are accepting donations, which will be given to the Italian Red Cross as they will, in cooperation with the Civil Protection, provide on-hand assistance to rebuild and repair the damages to the homes and workplaces. Apart from that, they will also provide psychological and psychosocial support to cope with the aftermath.
It is important to remember what matters: love and compassion, at all times, bearing in mind that our time in this world is limited, and each second with our loved ones is a blessing. We have been rather fortunate to have been kept safe there; however, this tragedy shows us that what may begin as an ordinary morning can turn out into a day some may unfortunately never forget.
On behalf of everyone who was there, we would like to express our gratitudes to the HOC Teams for their hospitality, and more importantly for keeping everyone safe. As readers, as Rotaractors, as members of the Rotaract Mediterranean family, and most importantly as compassionate souls, we are hoping that you show the exemplary support that you have always extended to our Italian friends and their families, remembering that there is no such thing as too little support. Anything and everything, every little step counts towards brighter days.
Hoping to see you at another event, happy and safe.
by Melis Leyal Gürel
For Donations through Bank Transfer:
Account holder:Distretto Rotaract 2090
Bank name: Banca Popolare di Puglia e Basilicata
IBAN: IT80L0538577783000000010166
Reason of transfer: Donazione Regione Marche
For Donations via PayPal:
https://paypal.me/DistrettoRotarac2090?country.x=IT&locale.x=it_IT