Andrea Zerbini Education and Travel Fund

Dr Andrea De Silva Zerbini
07.07.1984 - 12.07.2019

--traduzione in italiano--
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Eqpu9J9PqRtQsNsYAxjNDTUma-xpwiiQposkxCo6Lfg/edit?usp=sharing
 
Andrea was a big-hearted and curious person who pursued learning throughout his life. He was always surrounded by books, busy preparing for his next adventure and was extremely passionate in everything he did, from coffee-making to classics, mastering Arabic, deciphering inscriptions, and mushroom foraging. 
 
As a young scholar he was exceptional and as a person, he was extremely kind and generous. He loved archaeology, travel, and the Middle East especially. In 2017, along with his childhood friend Marco, he took part in the Mongol Rally and drove from England to Siberia in a Fiat Panda. Always remembered for his mega-watt smile, Andrea made friends easily and kept them.
 


Andrea was thrilled to be appointed Assistant Director of CBRL in Jordan in June 2018, and had previously been a CBRL Fellow in Amman (2013/2014). He loved Jordan and his time there was very precious for him, and his colleagues and friends.  
 
Andrea fell ill in December 2018 and faced the cancer he was diagnosed with tenacity. He held his passion for life and learning to the end - reading, assisting multiple friends with their PHD thesis, and marrying his love, Karen, just days before he passed away. Irrepressible and irreplaceable, in his all too short life, his light burned so very brilliantly. 
 
In his last months he felt blessed that in his all too short life, he had been able to fulfil so many of his dreams. This is why he set up The Andrea Zerbini Education and Travel Fund as his legacy: a means to support other people in pursuing their dreams to understand the region he loved.
 
The Fund, which Andrea has created with a very substantial sum of his own money, will provide annual scholarships for European graduates to travel to the Middle East, learn Arabic and engage in the cultural life of the region. Andrea was clear that the scholarships (up to €4,000) should not be limited to academics, but should allow people from all backgrounds who had a genuine curiosity to engage fully with the region and its inhabitants.


 
We are committed to fulfil his dream and to send the first “Andrea Zerbini scholars” to the region in 2020. The family would kindly request that no flowers are sent, instead if you would like to support Andrea's mission and legacy please click Donate Now to contribute to The Andrea Zerbini Education and Travel Fund. There is also space there for you to express your sentiments on Andrea's passing.
 
You are also invited to share your memories and impressions of Andrea in the comments space below - photos are welcomed.




We have named Andrea's mother, Paola Donati, as the direct beneficiary and recipient of funds from this campaign to push forward The Andrea Zerbini Education and Travel Fund.