The Thunder Foundation

06/08/2026

Excitement is mounting here at Thunder as our Year 4 High School students are about to start their final term of school education. They are all home for the holidays and will return to school in August for their final term. What an amazing achievement and although they are spending their holidays attending extra tuition to prepare for their exams in October they spent some time out with Ramadan this week and enjoyed a very productive and relaxed meeting before all our children went out for lunch.

As always a huge thank you to all our sponsors and donors for enabling the Thunder kids to achieve their dreams. They could not have done it without you.

18/07/2026

18/07/2026

Our Trustee Georgie Swift is visiting France this week and she stayed with her amazing friend Lise Moloney who has raised over £2500 during the last 12 months painting shells and selling them in the family restaurant Walnut Bistro. Thunder is incredibly grateful to the whole Moloney family who not only make a sizeable donation each year but also sponsor a child and raise money with the shell painting.

Thunder would not exist without the amazing support of people like the Moloney family - the generosity of people never ceases to amaze us and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

12/06/2026

On behalf of everyone at The Thunder Foundation, we would like to thank Principal Grazia Bergamaschi for her unwavering support over the years. Your belief in our mission and your willingness to open doors for our fundraising have made a real difference. A bridge has been built between the schools in Santa Maria Maggiore and our students in Nairobi.

As you retire, we celebrate not only your leadership, but the lasting impact you’ve had on our community. We’re deeply grateful for your partnership, your kindness, and the example you’ve set.

Wishing you a retirement filled with joy, rest, and all the things you’ve earned. You will be missed.

A nome di tutta The Thunder Foundation, vogliamo ringraziare di cuore la Dirigente Scolastica Grazia Bergamschi dell'Istituto Comprensivo Andrea Testori di Santa Maria Maggiore per il sostegno costante che ci ha sempre dimostrato. La sua fiducia nella nostra missione e la sua disponibilità a sostenere i nostri studenti hanno fatto la differenza.

Nel momento in cui va in pensione, celebriamo non solo la sua leadership, ma anche l’impatto duraturo che ha avuto sulla nostra comunità. Le siamo profondamente grati per la sua collaborazione, la sua gentilezza e l’esempio che ha saputo dare.

Le auguriamo una pensione serena, piena di gioia e di tutto ciò che merita.

12/05/2026

Ramadan has been visiting our special needs children’s families and schools this week. All the children were happy and enjoying school and all of them take part enthusiastically with all the activities that the schools offer. Here you can see their beautiful smiling faces. Many of them are growing into adults and we at Thunder are busy planning the path ahead for them once they leave school and Ramadan has been chatting with their families to discuss the next steps. We will of course share our plans once they have been formulated. But for now, please enjoy these lovely pictures.

27/04/2026

Yesterday, the Italian community supporting Thunder ran a marathon and walked 5 km through the historic monuments of the village. The day concluded with a pasta party. Thank you to the runners Davide Moglia and Elena Bonalumi, who guided the other runners, Damiano, Mirella, and all the volunteers of Ossola Amica dell'Ugi.
We are very grateful for the amazing work of Itana, Arcangela, Paolo, and the other volunteers who prepared three different kinds of pasta for 70 guests. Thank you to our friends in Falghera and our friend Francesca Veia for the special breakfast and nice snacks. Thank you to our friends in Anpi and Cai and all the friends who made this day possible. A special thank you is for our historian Felice Sarazzi, who illustrated the artistic beauty of our village to the friends who decided to explore Villadossola for the love of the Thunder Children.

27/04/2026

The Thunder Foundation never ceases to be amazed by the resourcefulness and generosity of those who support us.

Elena Bonalumi, pictured here, is one such person. Every year she galvanises her local community to run the virtual London Marathon in a small village in Italy - not only do they run the marathon but she motivates the community to support the effort by organising a dinner afterwards (this year it was a pasta party!) and there are stalls and volunteers who help with the actual race arrangements. She also arranged for a 5km historical tour of the village for those who wished to participate.

This has become an annual event and Elena works hard all year in order for the day to run smoothly. We are truly grateful for Elena’s hard work and enthusiasm - she has been a loyal supporter of Thunder for many years and we are extremely grateful for all her efforts.

More pics of the day to follow.

27/04/2026

It is the start of a busy week for the Thunder crew - they are back to school tomorrow and Ramadan met them today to hand out their back to school shopping for the term ahead.

All of the children are very happy and relaxed and looking forward to the penultimate term of the Kenyan school year. For our Year 4 children this term is particularly important as it is their final term of study before they return in the autumn to sit their final school exams. This will be a new chapter for Thunder as we navigate the Kenyan university and higher education system.

We wish all our children the best of luck for the forthcoming term.

26/04/2026

The stage is set in Villadossola - it’s a beautiful day and preparations are underway.

Run like a Kenyan!! Good luck to all the runners.