Up until yesterday, the six children were raised by their struggling single father in squalid conditions and a dilapidated house.
The children will soon leave Italy and come to Australia.
G. Ranieri, the owner of furniture and appliance stores of the same name, has pledged to furnish the home where the children will live and has already provided the necessary repairs and internal painting of the residence, located in Watt’s Avenue, Preston.
The Italian-Australian Welfare Association (IAWA) in Melbourne paid a £40 deposit towards travel expenses and will provide clothing for the children.
The IAWA will also carry out other initiatives to help the children.
The letters and phone calls we’ve received this week along with donations of money and items for the six little orphans is evidence of the Italian community in Australia’s generosity.
Many people wished to remain anonymous, like a group of Italians from Leichhardt who donated £7 and some clothes, or the employees at Gainsborough Furniture in Clayton, who donated £31.
All donations have been spontaneous and sincere, from people and families who gave what they could.
Many donated cots, beds and mattresses and we advise people to provide other important items, such as sheets, blankets and crockery.
One reader even offered to take in one of the youngest orphans and raise her alongside her own children until she turned 14, providing housing and education.
Offers of this nature will be evaluated in the coming weeks, following talks with the children’s father.
We thank everyone who has donated to the appeal so far and invite others to contribute like their compassionate countrymen.
Thanks to the generosity of the Italian community, a poor man struggling to look after his children now has hope.
Now, there is a repaired and furnished home awaiting his children, along with the £137.11 that have been raised so far.
