Pistorio Foundation: aprile 2011

Dear Friends,

As the Pistorio Foundation continues to grow in scope and strength, we would like to renew our sincere gratitude to our supporters who have enabled us to sustain our fundraising goals, despite the difficult global economic situation of 2010, to our volunteer project managers and auditors, and to our committed volunteer fundraising team in Singapore. At the end of 2010 we reached out to 1668 children throughout five countries, namely Thailand, Cambodia, Tibet (China), Burkina Faso and Morocco. These children come from the poorest and most marginalized communities in their countries and would not be able to attend school without our support. Our support includes providing school uniforms and supplies, as well as at least one nutritious meal per day and primary health care. Ensuring that these children reach professional school, they are able to break their families' cycle of poverty, and we believe that the number of children that we are able to support successfully in their long-term schooling is the most tangible and impactful result of our efforts.

In Thailand, where we also recently completed a Dormitory building for professional school students and a Kindergarten, we have reaped the fruits of our Village Model Approach. Village by village we ensure that no child gets left behind and is able to receive quality formal education. Subsequently, we address issues of women empowerment and village development. We leverage on the expertise and support of existing local NGOs to promote village development focused on three areas: basic adult education (literacy and numeracy); agriculture; and income generating activities. Today, most of our villages are cultivating their land not only for their own consumption but also to sell to existing non-profit organizations. All village households are involved in embroidery work that is then bought by other non-profit organizations. These activities have already significantly improved the income of families. The aim is for each village to become self-sustainable within 10 years. While our main focus is education, we are aware that in order to meaningfully improve the living conditions of the children, it is also important to improve the income earning possibilities of the parents.

Operating with no overhead costs in 2010, the Foundation has been able to channel all available resources to projects on location. This was made possible thanks to our volunteers worldwide and to our generous donors and sponsors. Thank you again for your continuous trust and support.

Warm regards,

Pasquale Pistorio
Founder and President

Chiang Rai Village Project - Inauguration of Laura Tirelli Kindergarten and Professional School Dormitories
Inauguration of Laura Tirelli Kindergarten
The Kindergarten was named in honor of Laura Tirelli, a close friend and supporter of the Pistorio Foundation, who passed away at the young age of 39 after a long battle with cancer.

This building completes the primary school complex in Ban Mhai Pattana'. The complex now has 3 two-story buildings: the Primary School, the Dormitory and the Kindergarten. In Thailand, Kindergarten (which last 2 years) is considered part of the mandatory school curriculum and the facilities are always built with and considered part of the primary school. There are currently 22 students attending the Kindergarten. We would like to thank all the supporters, volunteers, and friends that joined us in this ceremony, as well as Country Manager Lino Battan who volunteers many weeks on location to audit the programs of the Chiang Rai Village Project and to do due diligence for new construction projects and for collaborations with new villages.

Inauguration of Professional School Dormitories for Hill-Tribe Students
As part of our long-term scholarship, we ensure that every child we support completes professional school.

On February 25, we inaugurated a new dormitory for boys and a house for girls that we built at the VBAC Professional School in Chiang Rai which offers professional school courses from IT, to Accounting, as well as for becoming a Tour Operator, Radio Broadcaster, Electrician or Mechanic, among other professions. 70 hill-tribe students from our villages who are on Pistorio Foundation Scholarship now attend VBAC.

The girls and are housed in three houses, of which one donated by the Pistorio Foundation. The house we built consists of 3 rooms with 5 to 6 girls in each room.

The Boys Dormitory we inaugurated consists of 7 rooms that house a total of 38 boys. We further funded the creation of a soccer field and a basketball court, as well as a kitchen and canteen opposite the dormitory.

News from the Singapore Chapter

The Pistorio Foundation Singapore Chapter held its third annual Gala Dinner on November 30th, 2010, at the Shangri-La Hotel Tower Ballroom. The "Dolce Vita" themed event, in partnership with the Italian Trade Commission, successfully raised nearly SGD $126,000 in favor of the Chiang Rai Village Project.

The "Dolce Vita" Dinner featured culinary creations by visiting celebrity Chef Michele Magada. Attending the evening were Guest of Honor Mr. Teo Ming Kian, Chairman of MediaCorp, as well as HE Italian Ambassador Dr. Anacleto Felicani & Mrs. Felicani, and HE non-resident Singapore Ambassador to Italy Dr Loo Choon Yong, Executive Chairman of Raffles Medical Group Limited, and Chairman of Sentosa.

We would like to thank our event partner, the Italian Trade Commission, the Shangri-La Hotel, and our supporters and sponsors: the Italian Cultural Institute, STMicroelectronics, Crossinvest, ARA Managers, Pioneer Investments, Julius Baer, Bata, Cityneon, Expat Auctions, FBI wines, GALTA, San Pellegrino, Nestlé, Perfetti: andour auction donors: Aman Resorts, Audemars Piguet, Bawa House 87, Emilio Pucci, Ermenegildo Zegna, Forlino, Geylin's Original, Ketna Patel, Autium, Bello e Buono, Blu Kouzina, Carrot Banana Peach, Carolyn Wong, Carolyn Strover and Havoc, China Collection, Electrolux, EMP, Etro, Fifth Element, Hédiard, La Perla, Lush Spa, Missoni, Love Moschino, Pan Pacific Orchard, Powermoves, The Frame Society, The Orientalist, Trader's Hotel Kuala Lumpur.

Thank you also to Bata Children's Foundation for donating 500 pairs of shoes to children in three villages in Chiang Rai.

In-Kind Donations

Thank you to Food from the Heart for generously donating 6 boxes of new soft toys and board games that have been distributed and are now being used in the Kindergarten, Nurseries and libraries of our villages.

Thank you also to Intel staff who collected 250kg worth of children's books in English and soft toys for our young students in Nursery and Kindergarten and for our libraries in Chiang Rai. We would also like to acknowledge and express our gratitude to DHL for sponsoring the shipment of these items.
"We also would like to acknowledge the numerous in kind donations in children's books and toys from our Singapore Chapter Team Members."

Kids for Kids
Well done and thanks to the Saliling family for organizing a yard sale last January at their house and raising nearly S$ 500 for our Chiang Rai Village Project!

Upcoming Events in Singapore
Family Fundraiser April 2
Don't Miss our Family Fundraising Performance!
The Ugly Duckling, April 2nd, 11 am - 12 pm
SRT Theater
Call SISTIC today to book while there are still tickets available: Tel. 6348555

There will be exciting prizes to be won, a bake sale, and lots of fun for the family.

Springtime Lunch May 23
Save the date for our Annual Springtime Lunch hosted and entirely sponsored by
OSO Ristorante:
May 23, 12.00 pm to 2 pm
Oso Ristorante
46 Bukit Pasoh Road

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