School of Tourism Supports Mediterranea

This week two of our volunteers presented Mediterranea to the director of the School of Tourism as part of an effort to encourage more young people to participate in helping those in need.  They followed this up later in the week with presentations to the students.  As a result the school has immediately implemented a food and toiletry collection effort, as can be seen from the photos.  Some students have also shown interest in trying some fund raising events.

Dr Michael Stoma and Dr Victoria Baldo to receive COPESPA Prize from Prince of Asturias

The Portal Nous Medical Centre represented by Dr Michael Stoma and Dr Victoria Baldo who will be travelling to Madrid on 19 th Dec. The Medical Centre has been nominated for the CODESPA Prize for small companies. CODESPA is an organisation devoted to developing the concept of social responsibility in corporations and each year it selects and awards prizes to recognise exceptional performance in four different categories. This year the Portals Medical centre has been selected as one of two finalists in the PYME Solidarity category for it’s outstanding work and commitment to countries in development. The Medical Centre was chosen from all entrants by an esteemed panel of judges formed of personalities from the world of business and culture. The prizes will be presented by the Prince of Asturias.

A summary of the Portals Medical Centre submission is given below.
The Medical Centre provides the headquarters for Mediterranea NGO. The cost of rentals in the area of similar characteristics is 1500€. The Medical Centre carries the costs of telephone, mail, Internet etc. The Medical Centre has brought approx 80% of the Mallorca based members to Mediterranea, being patients of the practise and representing approx 50% of the total membership. Since before the war in Bosnia the Medical Centre has been a focal point in the community for the coordination of help to the needy in the area. Generosity, hard work and motivation to do something for the less fortunate has been the driving force of the humanitarian work of the clinic.

Here are some examples of the work carried out by the clinic:
- Cancer drugs and incubators were sent to the Paediatric Dept. of the Hospital of Kosovo in Sarajevo during the siege of the city. The medicines entered via different routes and were hand delivered to the department.
- Collaboration with the humanitarian aid convoys sent from Palma to Bosnia with ‘Joves Empresaris’
- Collaboration with Doctors of the World in the provisioning of the Mostar Hospital during the siege of this city.
- Collaboration with Doctors of the World in the forth world programme in the fight against the spread of AIDS
- Collaboration with Doctors of the World in the Rwandan conflict
- Sending over 30 tonnes of medicines and medical apparatus to Cuba between 1997 and 2007
- Collaboration in the development of a programme for the supply of all medicines needed at the Oncopediatric Dept. of the National Institute of Oncology and Radiobiology in Habana, Cuba.

The Portals Nous Medical Centre collaboration with many different local institutions has acted as a focal point for Humanitarian Help and Solidarity and helped to teach children and teenagers that supporting others less fortunate is a normal and natural obligation. For over ten years the Medical Centre have been encouraging their patients to be regular blood donors and have worked through Hermandad de Donantes de Sangre.

Thanks to help from other professionals in the area, the doctors of the Portals Nous Medical Centre formed Mediterranea NGO in 1999. Dr Michael Stoma taking the role as president and Dr Victoria Baldo as member of the board responsible for Mediterranea projects, initially in Cuba and now in Ethiopia. Mediterranea NGO is registered in the Baleares and has been declared ‘Utilidad Publica’ by the Ministry of the Interior on 1/7/2011.

The Portals Nous Medical Centre is grateful to it’s kind patients and friends who working with the centre to help those in need have made it possible for the centre to be nominated for this prize which we hope to share with all of you.
The CODESPA Prize Winners in the different categories are as follows:
EMPRESA SOLIDARIA > Acciona "Luz en casa". > La Caixa "Alianza empresarial para la vacunación infantil".

PYME SOLIDARIA > Redyser "Eqa. Empresas que ayudan". > Centro Médico Portals Nous "Escuelas de Akaki, Etiopía".

VOLUNTARIADO CORPORATIVO > Grupo VIPS "¡Hoy cocino yo!". > FCC "Voluntarios FCC. Portadores de alegría".

PERIODISMO PARA EL DESARROLLO > Juan Andrés Siles "Aprendiendo a cooperar". > Javier Arcenilla "Refugiados Rohingya. Ciudadanos del desamparo".