Question Time with co-founders Terry Waite & Carlo Laurenzi

Join our co-founders of Hostage International Terry Waite CBE and Carlo Laurenzi OBE, with our CEO Lara Symons, for a chat on Tuesday 29 June at 7.30pm.

So many people have so many questions about Hostage International we thought we’d bring some of our team together to be quizzed!

In this, the 30th year since Terry Waite was released from captivity, our co-founders will be taking a trip down memory lane to when they set up Hostage International in 2004 as well as looking forward to why the charity is still essential today.

Terry travelled to Lebanon as an envoy for the Church of England to try to secure the release of four hostages but was himself taken hostage on 20 January 1987. He remained in captivity for 1763 days, of which the first four years were spent in solitary confinement. He was finally released on 18 November 1991.

After his release Terry received many different requests for help from the families of hostages trying to navigate their way through this most extraordinarily difficult time. He knew that these requests weren’t going to stop so realised he needed an institution to ensure support would always be there for people affected by hostage taking.

Terry admits that administration nor knowledge of the inside workings of setting up a charity were his strong points, so Carlo offered to put the structure together to ensure a sound structural base for what became Hostage International.

This online event will be packed with stories and anecdotes from the past couple of decades – and beyond – and Terry and Carlo want to hear your questions.

To join this free* event, please email [email protected] and don’t forget to include your questions.

*As a charity that relies on the generosity of its donors to offer tailored practical and emotional support to families of hostages, and to hostages after their release, for as long as they require, we need your help! Please donate if you can. Anything you can give helps,  although if you are able to give a regular monthly donation these boost our ability to plan and to continue to offer the best support possible.