HM Consul General in Milan will be competing in the StraMilano Half Marathon on 19 March to support a school of The Citizens Foundation

HM Consul General in Milan will be competing in the StraMilano Half Marathon on 19 March to support a school of The Citizens Foundation

Mike Nithavrianakis is a diplomat currently serving in Italy, where he is the British Consul General in Milan and Director of Trade & Investment Italy. Before that, he was Deputy High Commissioner in Karachi and Trade Director in Pakistan from 2019 to 2022. It was during his stay in Pakistan that he got to know The Citizens Foundation (TCF), an education organisation established in 1995 that provides quality education to children from underprivileged backgrounds throughout the country. Sometimes the friendships and partnerships that develop beyond one’s work environment have the most profound and lasting impact. And so it was for Mike and TCF: “I was lucky enough to meet the founders of TCF immediately after my arrival in Pakistan in 2019 and to have the opportunity to visit some schools. I knew right away that this was an organisation I wanted to support.” There are several reasons why Mike decided to support TCF.  The first is the children: “Going to a TCF school and seeing the thirst for knowledge of children in Pakistan and their desire to learn, changes lives,” he says. The second reason is the numbers: 280,000 children, 1,800 schools, 13,000 female staff, and half of the pupils are girls. These statistics have had an outsized impact, changing the fate of a country where 23 million children do not go to school. And finally, the people: the volunteers, the staff, the support groups in the various countries, a de facto “family” scattered around the world but united by a firm mission: to break down the barriers of privilege by bringing children from the street into school. “After visiting some of their schools in Karachi,” he says, “I didn’t hesitate to volunteer to support the schools.  As a keen runner, I launched a campaign to raise substantial funds by running the London and Manchester Marathons a week apart in October 2021.  Such was the response and the generosity of many friends and contacts, we are building a new school campus in rural Sindh. Still today, following last year’s devastating floods in Pakistan and the current economic pressures facing many below the poverty line in the country, Mike cannot sit idly by. By participating in the StraMilano Half Marathon in March and then the London Marathon in April, he aims to support an entire TCF school providing quality education to 180 girls and boys. “Join me on this journey. It will be unforgettable, I promise you!” To support Mike Nithavrianakis For more information on Italian Friends of TCF: www.tcfitalia.org For information about The Citizens Foundation – Pakistan: tcf.org.pk
leave your comment

Featured Events

View all events

Find Hotel Deals

NH Hotels have more than 10 hotels in Milan and an excellent awards program. Get an extra 5% off when booking from our website with NH hotels.

What they say about us

Top