Building a New Ikastola

Today at Berria:

Auction to be held to build a new “Ikastola” in Irunberri

Well-known writers, musicians, sportspeople and artists have donated many articles to be sold by telephone and raise funds

Edurne Elizondo – IRUÑEA (Pamplona)

There is no let-up in the wave of solidarity with the Arangoiti Ikastola [Basque-medium school] of Irunberri (Lumbier, Navarre). Celebrities from the fields of science, culture and sport expressed their solidarity yesterday with the organisers of Sunday’s “Nafarroa Oinez” that was washed out by the rain.

A campaign has been launched with the slogan “Euroak euri, eutsi ametsari” (A deluge of Euros, cherish the dream): sportspeople, musicians, writers and other celebrities have donated things connected with their careers to the Ikastola to be auctioned by telephone (on 902 013883). The highest bidder will be able to take the gift home.

More figures than the Arangoiti people expected showed up at the Iruñea Planetarium yesterday for the launch of the new initiative: the physicist Pedro Migel Etxenike, the sculptor Nestor Basterretxea, the stone-lifter Iñaki Perurena, the Osasuna football team players Krutxaga, Puñal and Sanzol, the Basque pelota players Fernando Goñi, Oskar Lasa and Patxi Ruiz, the writer Aingeru Epaltza, the musician Enrike Zelaia, the mountaineer Mari Abrego… “The list is just growing and growing,” said the people in charge of the Ikastola.

October 29 is the deadline for anyone who would like to donate something. On that day and the following day the auction will end and the Arangoiti Ikastola staff will begin to distribute the prizes. The Ikastola chairman, Jose Enrique Garces, announced that on the Friday, October 31, there would be “a children’s festival” in Irunberri.

“We know that we are using the time that belongs to the Ikastola of Lizarra so we want to finish this campaign as soon as possible,” explained Nora Uribeetxeberria, Arangoiti’s head teacher. The Ikastola staff wanted to thank the Lizarra students for the fund-raising they had begun.

Garces explained that the cost of the damage caused by Sunday’s bad weather had not yet been worked out, but added that they would be “announcing it as soon as the figures had been completed.” As an example he said that the damaged stage cost 50,000 euros.

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