Surprise renovation: Stevie Bone, Tanya Zappia, Olivia Camera, Teresa Camera, Fred Ienco, Robert James, Tracy Bone and Daniel Meppem were part of the team that renovated the home of cancer victim Giovanna Ienco when they were away. Picture: Clancy Shipsides.
RELATIVES, friends and even strangers have come together for a Backyard Blitz-style renovation of young cancer victim Giovanna Ienco’s family home in Merbein.
Within three months of being diagnosed and aged just 15, Giovanna lost her short battle to ovarian cancer two months ago.
The Merbein P-10 College student’s sudden passing shocked her family and the Sunraysia community.
To try to lift Giovanna’s family’s spirits, in what has been an extremely painful year, people rallied around, donated their time and money to a mass surprise renovation worth between $25,000 and $30,000.
For years the Ienco family – Angela, Fred and their children Giovanna and Nando, 13 – planned to paint, decorate and update the family home.
So when Fred’s cousin Teresa Camera found out that both Ang and Fred would be out of town for a few days she had the perfect opportunity.
“Everyone’s down and broken-hearted and grief stricken, so my daughter Olivia said, ‘Mum, wouldn’t it be nice if we could do something like Scott Cam’s Backyard Blitz for them?’” Mrs Camera said.
“I thought, ‘Oh Liv, that would be too hard, we just couldn’t do it,’ but when I heard that they were going away I asked Fred’s permission without Ang knowing and he said yes.”
For more of this story, purchase your copy of Friday's Sunraysia Daily 14-9-2012.