A school that becomes home: benefit evening to support Amani Education’s project in Tanzania

A school that becomes home

Amani, which means peace in Swahili, è a volunteer organization established in November 2022 by the will of Giampaolo Ricci – captain of Olimpia Milano – and his family to concretely help the people of Tanzania. The bond uniting the Ricci family and Africa goes back before Giampaolo was born: Marisa and Francesco, the basketball player’s parents, were volunteer doctors in Tanzania in 1988. They lived for two years in Singida where, in a dilapidated hospital, è their eldest son Pierbruno was born, the first white baby to come to light in that region.

From 1988 to the present, Marisa and Francis have consolidated their relationship with the country and, above all, with the region of Singida, and have passed on to their children a feeling of deep attachment to the land that has given them so much over the years

The main goal of Amani Education è to develop and sustain a safe and inclusive educational ecosystem around Kisaki Secondary School. Why è a secondary school? The answer è is clear: education is an invaluable resource for young people in the area, offering them real prospects for growth and hope for the future. In fact, the Kisaki area has very few school facilities and no secondary schools, thus forcing boys and girls to discontinue their studies at the end of the primary cycle.
To carry out this ambitious project, Giampaolo Ricci and Amani Education are working closely with the Assumption Sisters: headquartered in Paris and with a long tradition of women’s educational commitment – their founder, Maria Eugenia, è was canonized in 2007 – the sisters are dedicated to school management and support of education in the region.

Important achievements and future goals
In just two years of operation, Amani Education has devoted significant resources in terms of time and donations, succeeding right away in improving conditions at Kisaki Secondary School and providing new educational opportunities for female students.

When Amani è stepped in, in July 2022, the school facility was limited to two blocks of four classrooms each and a building without toilets. Thanks to donations, already by November 2022 the organization had made crucial interventions: the floors and ceilings of the classrooms were completed, new doors and windows installed, and the porch and railings finished. The restrooms were refinished and made operational with toilets, faucets, and showers, finally offering female students adequate space for everyday life.

A key milestone è was the inauguration in January 2024 of the secondary school, which opened its doors to 30 girls from the community, offering them a safe and equipped environment to pursue their studies. Amani also created from scratch the physics, chemistry and biology laboratories, which are essential for comprehensive and quality scientific learning.

Aware of the results achieved but always oriented to do more, the Amani Education team intends to continue along the path traced in these two years of activity. Future plans for the’area around Kisaki Secondary School are ambitious and concrete: the’primary goal è to complete the dormitories by January 2025, to allow female students to live in the facility continuously and safely.
The development plan also calls for the construction of a cafeteria with a kitchen, a basketball court and a library, key spaces to enrich school life. To promote the school’s self-sufficiency, è also planned is the creation of a vegetable garden and an animal farm, essential resources for sustainable growth.

An evening dedicated to Kisaki Secondary School
To support the’expansion and improvement of the Kisaki Secondary School in Tanzania, currently attended by 30 female students and with over 50 pre-enrollments, Amani Education ODV is organizing a special charity evening under the patronage of the City of Milan, Department of Sports, Tourism and Youth Policies. On Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, at Talent Garden Calabiana in Milan (Via Arcivescovo Calabiana, 6, 20139, MI), a unique event will be held, designed to raise essential funds to transform the school into a real college, habitable full-time. With a feasibility cost of 100,000à, the project aims to ensure adequate, safe and sustainable spaces for female students in the region.

Program of the evening and special guests
The’event will begin at 7 p.m., with a welcome drink and included drink against a donation of 20€, in collaboration with longtime friends and sponsors APECESARE. Beginning at 7:45 p.m., Giampaolo Ricci will presentà the project in a special talk, joined by a well-known theater actor who will conduct the evening, offering participants a’rich experience on the work done by Amani Education.

Numerous activities and special guests:
● Basketball challenges with players from Pallacanestro Sanga Milano, who will invite participants to try their hand at shooting hoops and winning prizes in a sporty and fun atmosphere.
● Tombola with exclusive prizes, including a 100-inch TV donated by MediaWorld, a dinner at Trattoria Contemporanea (1 Michelin star) and a’work of art by Avangart, led by Zelig comedians to make the moment of the drawing a real spectacle.
● Benefit auction featuring 17 portraits created by Davide Barco, a renowned international illustrator, known for his collaborations with the NBA and the New York Times.