Abruzzo Heartquake

Much has changed since the first posting in January. We are now awaiting news on the condition of our property in Abruzzo, but remain hopefulthat all will work out. Early reports that Fossa was severely damaged were overstated. We've seen photos of our building - still standing but are awaiting a condition report. With all the heartbreak in Abruzzo from the loss of life and damage to many lovely villages, we are the lucky ones.

I am in contact with a colleague, Giancarlo, who is living in a tent camp outside of San Demetrio with 60 other earthquake survivors. I'd like to share a recent email from him. A previous email from Giancarlo is posted on the lifeinitaly.us website.

"Dear Jane. Thxs for your email, you can use my message for your newsletter, no problem. Situation in camp is better, but weather and tremors not helping at all. Today we have heavy rain and thunders, and the last tremor I felt was at 10:20 and I was at Stiffe. All the hamlets are controlled by the police to avoid people getting in [trouble] in case of tremors! We managed to collect from friends and relatives money that we spent to buy meat - that was one of the difficult things to find with fresh vegetables. We are ok now and have provisions for 6 meat meals to be spread over 2 weeks. If I can manage, I can send you pics of San Demetrio and surroundings latest Saturday. Kind regards." GC.

We're in touch with Giancarlo about ways to get money to the camps. Will let you know if I hear anything. By the next blog, we may have more news about the condition of Fossa and perhaps our building. Stay tuned.