We did it! — Helga Jonsson

Yes, we did it!

One month ago we finally could pack our stuff and move back to our beloved Zia Mura. It's been a tiresome, and dirty winter, but the joy of being back makes you forget about all the sweat and tears.

We began the autumn banging our heads bloody against the commune and the insurance company for all the permits to rebuild and to understand whether we would get any financial help or not. In the end, we gave up and decided to risk and start the rebuilding anyway, not knowing if we had the economy or not. Something we never would have dared to do without the immense support we've had from family and friends all over the world. So, a big THANK YOU, everyone, you’re the best!!

Even though help from the state or commune still hasn't been seen, there's been a lot of private fundraising to support the people of Montiferru. Also in Sweden, my family organized one that helped us to get started with the work at Zia Mura, to get a new water pump and the electricity up and going again, and to get rid of all the burnt material. Another local fundraising paid for tearing the burnt tree roots away, new fruit trees, and herbs to the garden. Then Lions bikers club gave us new baby olive trees and other friends plants for the garden around the house. We're so grateful for all this, we would never have managed without it. And it has also given us the strength to continue going.

In the end, also the insurance for the house has paid out, not everything of course, but a big help to the restoration.

Now we're back in Sweden for work 3 months, more tired than ever, but at least we know we have something to come back to this autumn!

Time to leave all this behind. Really.

Thank you all for believing in us!

In September we started the dirty and dusty job to cut down the remains of the olive trees, many had only left a meter deep crater in the ground. After that we planted new baby trees.