Pippo Ricci, captain of Olimpia Milano and pillar of the national basketball team, is a champion with a big heart who sees well beyond the lines of the pitch. Many things in his story prove this, above all his commitment to the children of Tanzania, through Amani Education ODV, the voluntary organization he founded with his family, in 2022. Amani in the Swahili language means “peace”, and one way to promote it is to reduce inequalities, which is why Amani education built a secondary school in Kizaki, in Singida, a very poor area, from which those who wanted to continue their studies beyond the first cycle had to emigrate to richer areas.
The school today has dormitory places for only 70 boys and girls, but there are many more applications. This is why the association is working and raising funds to expand the possibilities of welcoming a greater number of students.
It is the occasion for which Pippo Ricci and his family invite tonight 9 December 2025, to a party of sport and solidarity: the event, sponsored by POLIMI Graduate School of Management, is held starting from 7.00 pm at Talent Garden Calabiana in Milan (Via Arcivescovo Calabiana 6): a light evening in which to try your hand at a tombola with prizes, a three-point shooting competition open to all, and obviously the possibility of photos and autographs with the athletes present.
«I and all the tireless collaborators of Amani want this evening to be a real party, where everyone can feel part of a community that believes in the power of education», says Giampaolo “Pippo” Ricci. «With a short speech and the new video, we will talk about how the school has changed and why it is so urgent to expand the dormitories: this year we received 180 enrollment applications, being able to accommodate only 70. There is still a lot of work to do and we can’t wait to finish it!».
Other objectives are an “administration block” to make bureaucratic activities linked to the institute more efficient. Build a guesthouse to ensure external visits, generate revenue and make the school even more self-sufficient and start work on a modern and functional library. The school is directed by Sista Mary, from the congregation of the Sisters of the Assumption, founded in the nineteenth century by Saint Mary Eugenia, canonized in 2007, whose mission is education and training.
The value of the project is demonstrated by the fact that the school was awarded by the Ministry of Education of Tanzania as the best secondary school in the province. Also creating a bridge between Milan and the Kisaki secondary school is a beautiful “Kandinsky for Amani” project which saw over 100 students from the Kandinsky Professional Institute in Milan design and produce 30 school uniforms, delivered personally by Pippo Ricci and the team to the students of the Kisaki Secondary School during the trip last July.
