Annulliamo la Distance is a non-governmental organization founded in Florence in 1997. The purpose of this NGO is to bring concrete help for children of many developing countries. But development is necessarily linked to culture. For this reason the AnlaDi group travels the world with the aim of teaching in schools and developing projects to support education. Among the many activities of this organization there is also the finding of funds for hospitals, for the improvement of water resources and in general for all the essential things to a community. For the very important work they do, the members of Cancel the Distance deserve all the help and support they can get. We therefore decided to do our small part by interviewing the president of the association, Lorenzo Calamai.
- How was born we cancel the distance?
AnlaDi was born 20 years ago from the passion of a group of Florentine friends. A strong passion that has been able to expand and infect an increasingly large group of people thanks to the values that animate the Association. Friendship, solidarity, transparency, fairness. Through the motto "children first of all", AnlaDi wants to ensure young people the possibility of having a better future. So change their countries, their cities, their lives and those of their children for the better. These are the identity cornerstones of the Association that have neither changed nor aged.
- What were the first difficulties you had to overcome to create this association?
First of all was the recognition of local institutions. Not only from a strictly formal point of view but also to be able to create the necessary relationships of trust with decision makers in the countries where we operate.
- This year, precisely on October 7, the association will turn 20 years old. How has it changed over this period of time?
We started by dealing with Eritrea. At that time it was the youngest country on the African continent (now supplanted by South Sudan). From Florence AnlaDi then expanded and today covers the entire national territory. Since 2011 he has not been involved in projects only in Eritrea but also in other parts of the world. We have become a non-governmental organization recognized by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Thanks to this we work with international institutions of the caliber of UNICEF and the European Union.
- You have certainly achieved some great goals in these long years of work. Is there any particular project you are most proud of?
It is called "Let's walk together". It is a project carried out in collaboration with the Rizzoli Institute of Bologna and the Halibet hospital of Asmara. Since 2009, periodic missions of surgeons, anesthetists, nurses go to Asmara to deal with pediatric orthopedics. In doing so, they pass on their skills to their Eritrean colleagues. Thanks to the great work of both teams, coordinated by Annulliamo la Distance, today in Eritrea we are dealing with pediatric orthopedics. This makes it possible to save many young people and children from a life of physical and social hardship due to untreated malformations. In 2015 we inaugurated two operating rooms at the Halibet hospital dedicated to orthopedics.
- Can you tell us about an event that left its mark during one of your missions?
It was 2007. For the first time I was putting my foot in a project of Canceling the Distance. Having won the “I'll take you to Africa” competition proposed by the Association in many Tuscan schools, I had the benefit of being able to touch the Eritrean reality by accompanying the volunteers on a mission in Asmara. The plane landed late at night. In the silence and darkness of the asmarine night we were taken to the apartment that we would share for the duration of the mission. I remember well the languor in the stomach of my eighteen year old self in those moments. We had a project at the time, “Adopt a Family Home”. The project consisted in taking daily care of four Eritrean boys in difficult situations. Opening the front door, the smallest of them, for no apparent reason, sprinted across the corridor to come crashing into me in an embrace. It may seem trivial, but I think the strong emotion of that moment is the reason why ten years later I'm still here, with Annulliamo la Distance.
- What are your plans for the future?
We need to celebrate our twentieth birthday to look forward. We want to consolidate our presence in the countries where we have started projects and increase the effectiveness of our interventions in the first place. Explore collaborations with other international cooperation entities. To intervene to a greater extent than what we already do on the issue of migrants.
- How can you support Cancel the Distance?
All our projects can be adopted with a sum ranging from ten to thirty euros per month. We do not ask our supporters for more than one euro a day. 100% of the donations are invested directly in the project, with tangible results.
To know all the ways you can help us:
http://www.annulliamoladistanza.org/it/donazioni/
