Social Centre for the Old in Akaki has been Repaired

Dear Followers of Med

Here are some before and after photos of the future old people's social centre in the rail track area of Akaki in Ethiopia.  It will be the first centre of it's kind in the whole country.  As you can see they've done a very good job with the repairs.  All that remains now is what we need for inside which will be primarily just the chairs and planned activities for each day.  If there are any members who have or know of people who have experience with projects for the old then please contact us at mediterranea.ong@gmail.com, all ideas are very welcome.

The Old in Our Society

The old constitute one of the poorest sectors of our society and their situation is worsening.  The crisis is not the only culprit for this worsening in their situation because before the crisis the quality of life of many was precarious.

Spain is rich in poor old people.  More than half of old people who live alone are considered under the poverty umbrella.  A third of our old are underfed due to living alone, having chronic illnesses or sometimes from having a miserably small pension.

Everyday, as the supermarkets and markets close, many of the old can be seen searching the rubbish bins.  To eat from the rubbish is becoming ever more common amongst the retired Spanish, with what they save they are able to survive to the end of the month.  Those are people who receive little more than 300 euros a month to pay all of their subsistence costs, so they feel obliged to search the rubbish into order to supplement their food.

For a long time Med has had the intention to help this vulnerable area of our society but we’ve never found the right way.  We were not able to get precise information or logistic help.  Now it seems that we may be able to do something, we have made some opportune contacts and have a team ready to take action.  If all goes well we hope soon to be able to help old people with scarce resources in an area of Palma.  We hope to provide more information soon.

Student Med Member Appeals to Fellow Students at Queens College

James Spratt addressing Queens College Students Years 11, 12 and 13 in Genova last Friday at a presentation of the new Mediterranea Youth Programme initiative, which aims to involve young people in all aspects of the work that Mediterranea works in - both in Mallorca and the third world.   James Spratt, Queens College co-ordinator for the project, said “It’s pretty clear that young people today who are interested in a successful and productive future need to be aware of their own personal development and the concept of ‘Giving something back’ which is increasingly important in the modern world”.  This echoed the sentiments expressed by Dr Stoma earlier in the morning that to live in a world of plenty when so many are in need is an inequality that needs to be urgently addressed.  Mediterranea hope to provide a means through which the young people of Mallorca who care and want to make a difference in the world will be able to channel their efforts, energy and enthusiasm. 

The Eyes of Abugida

 Here are some photos from the days that our visiting ophthalmic team reviewed the children of Abugida...the photos speak for themselves.

Dignifix Information Meeting - Wed 23 Nov 6pm

Mediterranea are having an DigniFix information sharing meeting next Wednesday 23rd November at 6pm @ Dr Stoma's Surgery in Portals Nous.

As you may know this project involves small teams of handy folk travelling out to Ethiopia to renovate the schools that Med works with in whatever way they need. We are currently booking two teams to travel in Jan/Feb 2012 and are hoping for more in the future.

At this meeting we will talk about the project further, Dr Michael Stoma will give a short presentation about the schools and we will discuss the costs and talk about dates.

If you have ever thought about how you might be able to really make a difference and are ready for an amazing and possibly life changing experience, we look forward to seeing you on Wednesday...

The Dignifix Teams are on the Move

Dear Followers of Med

We will be counting on the valiant collaboration of mini brigades of volunteers who are making themselves available to help out with repairs, maintenance and extensions at our schools in Ethiopia.  We already have the first team looking at dates: five men and a woman.  These mini brigades are formed by seamen from the super yachts that arrive at our shores in the winter for the offseason.   All the volunteers are giving their services free of charge and are paying all of their travel costs.

In Abugida they will erect a fence around the school to stop the street animals for entering, they’ll reconstruct the school entrance, carry out plumbing and many outstanding repairs.  They are people used to solving difficult problems at deep sea and sometimes in the face of great difficulties, so they have acquired many skills.  In Fita they will fit water tubing for the kitchen.  In Sebeta they will buy and install a new industrial kitchen and an extractor.  They’ll also lay cement around the houses so that they don’t get full of mud during the rainy season.  They will train up two handymen at both Abugida and Sebeta.  Their work will be very very useful to maintain and embellish the schools especially now that we are in the process of building a new cesspit at Abugida, using a local contractor at a cost of 5500 Euros.

If you are interested in joining or forming your own mini brigade please contact us.  We also have a Facebook page dedicated to these Med digniprogrammes.