Sri Lanka – Carlotta Hall – January 2024

"It’s hard to find the right words to describe Carlotta. She was a wonderful woman whose kind and radiant spirit inspired love and kindness in others. Sadly, in April 2021, she left us suddenly due to cardiac arrest—so soon and so suddenly that it left those who loved her paralyzed with grief. But Carlotta was a cheerful, lively, and energetic person, and she gave us the strength to channel her energy into some beautiful initiatives to remember her.
In 2022, we launched a fundraising campaign that allowed us to install two defibrillators in the historic center of Cesena, her hometown, to protect and help those who, like her, unfortunately suffer from heart conditions.
At the same time, we have funded the creation ofan open-airsculpture, which will be created in the coming months, again in her beloved Cesena, by the renowned Romagna artist Marcantonio Raimondi Malerba, who has become one of the most acclaimed Italian artists abroad today. In this way, we will pay tribute to another of Carlotta’s great passions: art.
Carlotta’s passions for life, for art, and, above all, her love for others, now lead us toward a new and wonderful project. We will embrace an organization very dear to me and support them in one of their admirable initiatives, hoping to add a new piece to what is already a wonderful puzzle. "Take Me Back" is a project founded by Antonio di Leonardo and Andrea Mariani that combines travel with solidarity through a network of volunteer couriers who transport and deliver gifts to those in need.
Since 2016, humanitarian missions have been carried out to deliver educational materials and clothing—including books, notebooks, backpacks, and shoes —to schoolchildren in villages across Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and Thailand.
From January 16 to 29, 2024, the Take Me Back Solidarity Couriers will be back in Sri Lanka, retracing the steps of the film Serendip to discover the beauty of this fantastic island. During the trip, the group led by Antonio will deliver school supplies and clothing to the 200 children at the Ambewela school.
When my friend Antonio suggested this trip to me, giving me the opportunity to link Carlotta’s name to such a beautiful and important project, I was truly moved. The teachers and children at the Ambewela school need our help more than ever, and one of the mission’s goals is to raise funds to build a new classroom adjacent to the school:the Carlotta Classroom.
We will need €1,500 to build the new classroom. If we exceed this amount, we will purchase additional supplies such as colored pencils, drawing paper, books, and musical instruments— everything needed to turn the Carlotta Classroom into an Art Classroom. You, too, have an important role in “putting together” this precious gift. If you’d like to help build the Carlotta Classroom, please donate using the form below. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts."
Andrea Mucciante