MILAN – It's been 20 years since that 15 May 1994, an evening when something was due to change. A group of friends met up with a precise aim: to found an organisation "for victims of war, landmines and poverty, to offer them free, high-quality treatment, and take aid where there is no other way of getting aid". Twenty years on, looking at those words written by Cecilia Strada, president of Emergency, the group of friends succeeded in their mission.
Their first operation was in Rwanda that same year, immediately following the genocide. That was followed by further efforts in many other countries – 16 to date – with aid provided to over six million people. Then there are the hospitals and the surgical, rehabilitation and paediatric centres built, to name just some of their achievements.
The 'games' that Emergency have won, none of them easy, can be considered true victories. If you looking at what they have done and what they still have to do, Emergency's 20th birthday really is an occasion worth celebrating. That's why FC Internazionale has decided to take part in the association's party.
The Nerazzurri will wear a special shirt with 'Venti' (Twenty) clearly visible on the left arm for their last match of the 2013/14 season, Chievo v Inter. A way of emphasising the importance of the message Emergency has carried and promoted in all these years. A way of spreading it among all the Inter fans around the four corners of the globe and making it an 'International' celebration, dedicated to all those who really believed 20 years ago.
