A letter.

Letter to all present and future members of Mediterranea ONG

My name is Maria Dolores, I’m the “children’s nurse” at the medical centre in Sa Pobla.

Every day I see between fifteen and twenty children who come for their vaccinations, to weigh themselves, to treat their injuries.....

One day I asked one of the mothers if she gave her 8 month old son chicken; her reply was that she gave him potatoes and carrots and chicken when she could, which wasn’t very often as her husband had been out of work for three years. She received government benefits of 425 euros which would be coming to an end in two months time but she had 5 children and hadn’t paid the rent for a whole year. She was scared of being thrown out of the house.

The other day we prescribed some antibiotics to a little girl of two who had an ear infection but the mother didn’t have enough money to buy them.

I heard one story after another from the families who came for their appointments and I tried not to limit myself to giving them nutritional advice and I asked the parents about the possibilities they had for giving their children a so-called “healthy diet”.
I soon realised the situation was more serious than I had thought; there were families in Sa Pobla really struggling to feed their children. I identified 10 specific families with 29 children.
With a group of friends I started thinking how to improve this situation and we decided to organise some food donations for these families which we wanted to take round to their homes, along with helpful information and advice.

We were then extremely lucky to make contact with Mediterranea ONG who trusted and supported us right from the start; they brought experience, advice and funds to the project.

Thanks to them we are now helping to feed 95 families with a total of 305 children.
Every day I hear the words "thanks Dolores", thanks María, thanks very much". It gives me such pleasure to see the smiling faces of Farid, Samir, Pedro.... these are just some of the little ones I help in Sa Pobla.

I know that none of this would be possible without the help of everyone at Mediterranea. Their efforts and generosity enable me to enjoy these smiling faces.
I would like to share some of the things I hear with you:

Thank you on behalf of Farid, four years old, diagnosed with dwarfism and a face of an older boy which is so touching.
Thanks from Souhaila, 6 years old, who, when she heard me say to her mother to let me know if she neended anything, gave me a piece of paper the next day with the following words written on it .."I would like a television".
Thanks from Pedro, Juan Luis and little Paula
Thanks from Walid, who has anaemia.
Thank you on behalf of Samir, four, as light as a feather, who clings onto me like a little monkey with a huge smile.
Thanks from Bilal, 3 years old, who speaks Mallorquin with a Sa Pobla accent and wants to be a football player.
Thanks from 8 month old Mariatu, a sweet little chocolate baby!
......................................................................
........................................................................................
........................................................................................
.......................................................................
A big thank you on behalf of the 305 children of Sa Pobla who are on the list – but they are not just a statistic, they are real little human beings.
Thank you from the 95 families that ask me every day if I know about any jobs for them.

I would like to say thank you for making it possible for me to receive so many words of thanks!


Please keep up the good work, we need you.We need more pairs of hands to help share the smiley faces with me.
Please contact Dr Stoma (mediterranea.ong@gmail.com)
or email me (mdaguilo@hotmail.com)

Every time I read this letter I get a lump in my throat. Time does not make me tough.

 Michael