CHAIN OF SOLIDARITY

Chain of Solidarity in Solleric

Although quite some time has passed since this event we wanted to let you know that Mediterránea and its young volunteers took part in the Nit del Born activities, along with the association Mallorca Without Hunger. We used the structure especially created for this event by Susy Gómez in the Casal Solleric palace and staged the chain of solidarity on the scaffold framework, from where we distributed the food which we give to the most needy. Young people from Agora and BIC schools passed food items from one to another along the line until they filled the bags laid out on the last level of the structure, each bag featuring the words: “Yes, you can help us with your solidarity to fill these bags with food to deliver to the needy”.
The activity was applauded by the public who had gathered to watch and was well received.

The event was rounded off by the reading of a letter to the Three Kings:

The Three Kings and Father Christmas, this year is complicated here in Spain and we know that you will really have your work cut out.

At Mediterránea we are helping you so that all the children in a town just a few kilometres away from here, Sa Pobla, will get at least one present. We are collecting them in the Juega y Educa shop which is in Calle Jesús, 13. Maybe some of you here listening to us have a toy at home you could donate – you will be rewarded with a child’s smile.

We are also helping, together with Mallorca Sense Fam, to collect food and distribute it in lots of places, but with the children being a priority. It seems really unfair to us that according to María Dolores, the nurse at the Sa Pobla Medical Centre, there are 320 children who are undernourished.

If they don’t eat well they won’t grow properly and they will face severe consequences. We have created for them the Book of Recipes Against Hunger which you could perhaps add to your list as a practical, supportive gift which has been made by children who are much more privileged.

They are children from Queen’s College, The Academy, Bellver College and Baleares International College, who have put together a book featuring their 30 favourite meals. All money raised from the sale will be turned into food, so perhaps you could take note and leave one in our shoes on Three Kings Day or in our sack, dear Father Christmas.

We would like you to know that Mediterránea distributes 2000 kilos of food each month to a total of 900 needy people. In 2011 Mallorca Sense Fam delivered a total of 111.857 kilos of food to 752 families, from which a total of 1.305 people benefited. 

We can try to beat the crisis with solidarity. There will be better times ahead but right now we must help those who have hardly anything.

Recipes Against Hunger

THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS OF MALLORCA SHOW THEIR SOLIDARITY WITH MEDITERRÁNEA

This afternoon the directors and representatives of Bellver International College, Queens College, The Academy School and Baleares International College have presented the president of Mediterránea NGO, Dr Michael Stoma, with the money they raised from two charitable iniciatives. One being the sale of the solidarity books ‘Recipes Against Hunger’, edited and illustrated by the pupils at these four international schools; and the other, the performance of a fundraising ballet show by the María Antonia Màs dance studio, which took place in Paguera on 27th December.
The money from this Christmas campaign, 4,364€, will be used to purchase food for the most deprived families in Sa Pobla, a project which our organisation has been running since 2012.
In the photo are Mr Albert Loddo and Mrs Browen Griffiths, director and teacher from Bellver College, the director of the primary section at Queens College, Debbie Eaves, the president of Mediterránea NGO, Dr Michael Stoma, the director of The Academy, Clare Mooney, and Gema Izquierdo, representative of the Baleares International College.

HUNGER FOR JUSTICE

Letter from sister organisations :

HUNGER FOR JUSTICE
The solidarity shown over the last few years by the Mallorcan people towards those who are deprived of the basic means of survival has been extraordinary. However, the generosity shown this past Christmas has grown to heroic proportions as so many people have shared with the poor and given them things they desperately need.
We would like to speak on behalf of the needy people to whom we distribute food, who suffer from hunger in their own homes, expressing our thanks to all those of you who make this human kindness possible. If the extreme needs of many of the people who live in Mallorca were the result of a natural disaster then we could speak proudly of such generosity. However the reality is that the desperate situation of this new poverty is caused by the perverse society we live in and the cynicism of people who abuse economic, social and political power. There are reasons and guilty people behind our crisis.
We want to continue helping the hungry by collecting and distributing food but we cannot give up our rights and our dignity. For us, silence would be worse than ignoring the misery.
We, the poor and needy refuse to be used to reinforce the system. In addition to our hunger for food we are suffering from hunger for justice.
We are not talking about a Utopian justice as a synonym of revolution, for which we have long given up hope. We demand a justice which is palpable and real as in the classic sense of the word. In other words, equality of rights, opportunities and responsibilities for everybody.
Justice means that the public money grabbers give us back everything they have stolen from us. Justice means that astronomical differences in wages are suppressed. Justice demands that public and private funds that have gone missing and have been hidden away are invested in the creation of jobs. While there continue to be around one hundred thousand people out of work in Mallorca, our society will be drowned in misery.
We can only dispel the stench of charity which is given off by our good deeds by complaints, criticism and self-criticism. We can only bear the pain of helplessness by shouting aloud about our hunger and thirst for justice.

Can Gazà
Fundació Minyones
Parròquia de sant Francesc de Paula
Caputxins, “Pa de sant Antoni”
Associació altruista El Refugi
Associació Zaqueo
Ciutat, gener 2013

------------------> We are in agreement with them.(MS)

Food hand out in the center of the island

4th World Volunteers

Following our first experiences as volunteers at the Sa Pobla base, we have seen for ourselves how necessary it is to help those people who are being severely punished by the current situation in Spain. When we arrive in the morning we are infected by the cheerfulness and enthusiasm of María Dolores and Javier and we are so keen to collaborate and learn from them. From what we have seen these two people are completely dedicated to this project. Our role begins with collecting food supplies, clothes, toys.. etc. We then take them to the base, put things in order and prepare the supplies for each family which will then be delivered afterwards. We distribute basic food items for everybody but especially products for babies, both food and hygiene care products. 

We are delighted to be able to form part of the team and we encourage you to take part and donate food and clothing because these things are really necessary more than anything. Today for instance a lady was telling us that over the last 2 weeks her children had only eaten biscuits because she had nothing else available...... 



Finally, a big thank you to those of you who are already helping.

BALI

On our recent holiday to Bali, We had an excursion to a remote village.
While we were there, we mentioned to our guide that we had glasses, given to us by our doctor ( Dr Stoma ) in Mallorca. To be given to people who need them. 
With in minutes of this being mentioned, we were surrounded by locals, keen to find glasses which would help their sight. One gentlemen brought a small piece of card with writing on it, so he could try on the glasses and read.

Here is a photo of one of our happy recipients. Being able to help a few  people in Bali with there sight, was one of the high lights of our holiday.

Jamie & Charlotte Painter

SCHOOL BOOKS, THE FUTURE

In our endeavor to try to supply school children who may not receive all the nourishment they need at home with cartons of milk, we discovered that there are other essentials lacking in schools in Mallorca. Many students lack scholastic materials but even more shocking, many children do not have the books that are so necessary for them to continue with their studies. As we believe that the key to the future is education, we decided to take action. We organized a raffle with the help and support of Meliá, restaurante Sa Cranca, and, of course, all the volunteers involved. Through this effort we manged to raise 2,700 euros for a school in Palma, which covered the cost of all of the books that were needed  with plenty left for extra school materials. Dr Michael Stoma was more than pleased with the results as he was dubious as to whether or not we would be successful. But with the help of so many generous people, we  managed to achieve our goal. 

With so many families suffering economically at this moment in time, we have only succeeded in helping  one school but this is just the beginning!!"

Jeanette