Italy: distance sponsorship programmes to be surveyed

Torino?s Sad Forum takes off again. At its eighth national meeting that has brought together more than 40 organisations, a network, made up of associations, local councils, media and the government to promote sponsorship programs in developing nations. There is the desire to start a-new within the associations that promote such sponsorship programs. After the storm that broke out last November, when Corrado Oppedisano, the president of Ccs and spokesperson for the Sad Forum, ended up in prison for having illegally subtracted funds that were destined to children in less developed nations, clear skies are again in sight for the organisation. In the mean time, the eighth national Forum that has brought together more than 40 organisations on the 17th and 18th of February in Turin peace has been reistablished with Raffaella Carrà. At the debut of the Tv show ‘Amore’ there had been a dire clash. Sad Forum had accused her of confusing adoption with sponsorship. Now, Raffaella?s participation at the Forum during an evening called How to communicate about overseas sponsorship programs old wounds have healed and given way to the opportunity to work together; Mrs Carrà has even agreed to become a sort of testimonial for distance sponsorship programmes. Another chapter is that which seeks to find an autonomous place within the sector, different to the scene of international adoptions but close to that of development. The request, that comes from the higher levels of the Forum, is to launch, together with the government, a survey of all the associations so as to create a national database. ?It will not be a simple directory? announced Vincenzo Curatola, spokesman for the Sad Forum, ?but a tool for continued and constant control, also thanks to the contribution of local government councils?. More than two million Italians have adhered to distance sponsorship programmes, resulting in cash flows of about 600 to 700 million euros a year. ?This is why transparency is a must? goes on to say Mr Curatola ?and rules that guarantee that it be enforced.?. Adriano Labbucci, spokesperson for Elsad, says ?The government must intervene not only so as to ensure that the survey mechanism works, but also to ensure that the operation is credible and so that debate between organisations is encouraged.? The government, represented at the Forum by Cecilia Donaggio does not shy away from the challenge, rather it takes on the proposal to dedicate a whole week to the issue of distance sponsorship in May. Resources are not plentiful. ?There is always the need for an increased support from the private sector.? What is the Forumsad? It is a permanent Forum for distance sponsorship programmes. Forum Sad was established on the 21st of September 2004. By January 2007 40 member organisations formally adhered to it, with a total of about one million supporters and 2,5 million beneficiaries of charity projects in more than 110 countries in the whole world. www.forumsad.it