Italy: Virtual stars light up Christmas

A euro a day to stop Aids as it is born
There are many presents that Italian Ngo Cesvi proposes to those who want to make a useful ?good? present. Among this year?s new present ideas are the Try to Aid T-shirt: a throbbing orange heart in the middle of the limited edition t-shirts.

Proceeds from t-shirts with the Try to Aid logo will go to the Casa del Sorriso, an educational centre for children in the Manguinhos favelas, one of the most degraded and violent areas of Brazil. Minimum contribution; 20 euros, on the website www.tryeyewear.com. For those who want an ?alternative? gift, the ?Let?s stop Aids when it is born? campaign may be an interesting option. With one euro a day (the price of a coffee in Italy) antiretroviral theraphy is guaranteed to a Zimbabwean mother.

And finally there is the 2008 Bonfing calendar. These calendars can be purchased in all Media World stores and Saturn shops and will give a euro to the Casa del Sorriso in Cape Town. The calendar also contains a small book that tells Cesvi?s story, their commitment towards women and children, who are often the victims of domestic violence in one of Cape Town?s most degraded shanty towns. Price: 11.40 euros, available in all Mediaworld and Saturn shops.
www.cesvi.org

?Looks? celebrate 100 years of social challenges
Sguardi, ?looks? in Italian. This is the name of the hundred year anniversary edition of Cbm Italia Onlus? calendar. Three hundred and sixty five days to celebrate 100 years of challenges and the chance to give hope to Ethiopian children. The pictures are signed by Pino Ninfa and the preface is by Candido Cannavo?. At Christmas Cbm Italia celebrates its first century of life ( 1908-2008) with ?Looks?. The Ethiopian children that Cbm Italia help in their projects at Wolisso and Nazareth in Ethiopia, have been given little digital cameras and some basic notions to learn to take pictures to what surrounds them: their school, their family, their village, their play-mates. The children involved, some of whom suffer visual pathologies like cataracts or trachoma, have had the chance to try something absolutely new.
The calendar is available on the website: www.cbmitalia.org

Light up a star for Multiple Sclerosis
The Christmas symbol ?par excellance? is a star in the sky, and this is the symbol that Aism has chosen for its Christmas campaign. The Italian association for multiple sclerosis launches a clear message this year: light up a star for Ms. A virtual star in a virtual sky that will go towards paying for a wheelchair, an hour of physiotherapy or rehabilitation at the pool. You can also choose to donate to scientific research, all you have to do is select your star from the website. www.stelledellasolidarietà.it . Aism?s other Christmas gifts are also virtual: screensavers, wallpaper, and e-cards for your mobile or your pc.
www.stelledellasolidarietà.it

A yak for life
Save the Children Italia Onlus this year goes for the virtual present, with a wish list that has chosen to be represented by a yak, the tibetan ox to be more precise, as it really on many Tibetan children?s Christmas wish list.

Owning this animal in Tibet means having milk to drink, wool to keep warm and muscle to plough the fields. Further down on the list? Little pink pigs, forty chickens or a supply of nourishing nut bars for seriously under nourished children. But the spiceyist present is a hot pepper kit to keep elephants away from the fields. Donating is simple on www.desideri.savethechildren.it. Somebody thousands of kilometres away will receive your present and a close friend of your choice will receive a card with the donation certificate.
www.desideri.savethechildren.it