Where We Have Been & Where We Are Today – Mediterranea in the US
September 4, 2011 No Comments
I look at this US-based website when, in April, I last updated and moved blog posts and news items about Mediterranea’s non-profit organization and the amazing help they give to so many people in need. I am so far behind! Not once did any of them stop or change direction from their focus of helping any of these people. Not once did I see a hesitation in sharing that information with any and all who would listen and read about it on the various other websites Mediterranea maintains. I, however, had some things take place that changed my focus and moved me away from updating the information on this US-based website and I want to apologize for that.
What you will see for the website here is a continued want to share with you all about Mediterranea and their amazing volunteers, members, doctors, the schools, the kids and all those that truly participate in helping Mediterranea’s efforts to help others. But without the necessary time that I would have liked to have, I am having to resort to simply sharing links from the UK-based website (also in English) version. You can go over there, http://directhelpngo.blogspot.com/ and check things out yourself or you can get a monthly (or more) type of list of the posts and topics addressed here.
There is also an RSS feed you can subscribe to for getting notice of the various blog posting: http://directhelpngo.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Your help is still and will always be needed – don’t stop just because I had to. And know that your biggest, most appreciated help comes in the form of being a Member – where every penny you donate goes directly to those in need.
August 2011 – Mediterranea News:
Summer Feeding Program at Fitawrari School
August 31, 2011
As I’m sure you’ll remember last Nov we started a school-feeding program at the Fitawrari Public School. We built and fitted out a kitchen and washroom and we renovated an existing room to act as the dining room. We contracted four cooks chosen from the most needy mothers of Abugida. During the term time 113 children of the primary school have breakfast, lunch and tea, chosen from the orphans, those who are HIV+ and those with very difficult family situations. We also provide breakfast for all the 160 children of the preschool; the most needy of those also have lunch and tea.
Read more: http://directhelpngo.blogspot.com/2011/08/summer-feeding-programme-at-fitawrari.html
Super Barry Returns to Ethiopia
August 30, 2011
We are happy to announce that super Barry arrived last Friday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. For those who don’t know him he is our volunteer constructor who makes possible the impossible – who obtains the correct prices for work when we’re having our leg pulled – who understands everything structural and technical and is the first to roll his sleeves up and get to work. Thanks to him we were able to build the extensions and additional buildings at the Abugida School, make all the repairs to the Biru Tesfa School and repair the bathrooms at Fitawrari School.
Read more: http://directhelpngo.blogspot.com/2011/08/super-barry-returns-to-ethiopia.html
2011 Mediterranea NGO AGM
August 27, 2011
Dear members:
I should like to invite you all to the next General Meeting on Friday
2nd September. It will be held at the Mediterranea headquarters in Plaza de
Portals 3, local 5, Portals Nous, Calvia. Mallorca
Read more: http://directhelpngo.blogspot.com/2011/08/2011-mediterranea-ngo-agm.html
The August Group of Volunteers
August 25, 2011
Abugida is a happy place, rather damp and full of “chica” (mud). There is no time to stop, there is so much to do.
Read more: http://directhelpngo.blogspot.com/2011/08/august-group-of-volunteers.html
6 God Mothers/Fathers Needed for 6 Babies
August 24, 2011
To date we have had 51 children who have needed sponsorship and for all of these except for 6 little boys and girls we have godfathers or godmothers.
Sponsorship requires an emotional commitment on the part of the godfather or godmother and a monthly payment of 24 Euros. This money not only secures the life of the child but also the life of his/her family, since a mother who is HIV+ that can eat is a much stronger mother.
Read more: http://directhelpngo.blogspot.com/2011/08/6-god-mothersfathers-needed-for-6.html
August Photos
August 23, 2011
Photos of some of the work done by our volunteers during August.
There’s only a little time left for the super volunteers of August and from here we want to thank them for their involvement and excellent work.
Read more: http://directhelpngo.blogspot.com/2011/08/august-photos.html
Martha Continues Smiling
August 23, 2011
Martha is still in hospital; we believe that she will be there till the end of this week. They have put her in a corset that she will have to wear for the next three months. Our little champion is always in a good mood, always smiling.
Read more: http://directhelpngo.blogspot.com/2011/08/martha-continues-smiling.html
Milk Problems
August 22, 2011
Milk is a luxury in Ethiopia. The great majority of children, not to mention adults, drink tea instead of milk. The reason is purely economic; it has nothing to do with any type of intolerance to milk. In our school Abugida (215children including 73 babies on double rations), in Fitawrari school (310children) and in Biru Tesfa (190 children), these last two where Mediterranea provide school feeding programs, everyone drinks milk.
Read more: http://directhelpngo.blogspot.com/2011/08/milk-problems.html
In a Place Called Ethiopia…the Return
August 21, 2011
After a long weekend away from Sebeta, today we returned to the Mediterranea workshop. From the welcome we received we imagined that they thought we had left for good and without saying goodbye.
Read more: http://directhelpngo.blogspot.com/2011/08/in-place-called-ethiopiathe-return.html
Diary of Ale, Abugida 7, 19 July
August 15, 2011
The day got off to a terrible start! Carol didn’t sleep a wink all night long and got up feeling very down. She felt so low that she suddenly started crying whilst we were having breakfast. It rains day after day, the work is hard (if you are looking to do some charity work in your holidays then look elsewhere, this is no holiday), we haven’t had any internet access for days and it’s impossible to make phone calls (this makes us feel even more cut off than we already are), we seem to be going round and round in circles trying to get things done (people don’t fulfill deadlines or stick to the quoted prices, we have to negotiate everything…). She knew this wasn’t going to be easy but she is realizing just how hard it really is now. We all have bad days and it’s good to be surrounded by friendly people when we are having a hard day.
Read more: http://directhelpngo.blogspot.com/2011/08/diary-of-ale-abugida-7-19-july.html
A Day in Abugida
August 12, 2011
Today we are spending the day in Abugida, the school managed by Mediterranea in Ethiopia and the place where we were going to come at the start. It is fantastic to share this day with the children, the workers and our volunteer friends Alejandra and Carolina.
This morning we visited the class of Dagem, a boy of two years with cerebral paralysis.
NOTE FROM MEDITERRANEA: Children like Dagem in Ethiopia are not accepted in any place, they are considered (as are all the handicapped) a punishment from God and they make life particularly difficult for the mothers. The majority of the parents simply abandon them because they can’t work and can’t count on any kind of help, human or material. We have been the first school to accept children with cerebral paralysis. We were going to have two but ‘someone’ deleted the details of the girl and we have not been able to inform the parents that she has been accepted. Luckily with Dagem we entered him directly into the school as soon as we met him without waiting for the selection process. it is our intention to accept children like Dagem into each level of the school, fighting strongly to avoid anyone denying them access to Abugida, which has to be a paradise for all children without exclusion. Dagem has a caregiver dedicated to him with precise instructions as to how to care for him and stimulate him when on his own and when participating in group activities.
Read more: http://directhelpngo.blogspot.com/2011/08/day-in-abugida.html
Martha’s Operation has Gone Well
August 08, 2011
Martha’s operation, with her spine so unstable, her vertebra so weak and the fact that they had to operate in the cervical area of the spine with the consequent danger of damaging the medulla and of course of tetraplegia, we had our hearts in our mouths. After an 8-hour operation we spoke with the surgeon and everything had gone well. She will be in intensive care until Monday and thereafter be returned to her room. She will have to wear a corset for the next three months and we hope that this time will be the last…although they will have to continue making tests to see if there’s anything else as this is a very difficult case.
Photo: Martha in the swimming pool just before the operation.
Read more: http://directhelpngo.blogspot.com/2011/08/marthas-operation-has-gone-well.html
Hopefully the Third Will Be the Last (Posting from 27/7)
August 08, 2011
Yesterday Martha arrived in Mallorca, this time accompanied by her brother Mesfin. It is the third time that Martha will be operated on for her Sclerosis and hopefully it will be the final operation.
Read more: http://directhelpngo.blogspot.com/2011/08/hopefully-third-will-be-last-posting.html
Diary of Ale from Abugida 6, 18 July
August 08, 2011
STRESSED OUT!! Last night I set about organizing the time we have left and allocating the tasks still pending and I was up to my eye balls! We’ve hardly got any time left! In less than two weeks (ten school days) we’ll be going. And we’ve still got millions of things to do. And we have worked non-stop but there is so much that we want to get sorted and up and running before we leave.
Read more: http://directhelpngo.blogspot.com/2011/08/diary-of-ale-from-abugida-6-18-july.html
Various Reflections
August 05, 2011
Our experience tells us and shows us that everyone wants to live in the best way possible. That people are not happy when they are hungry. That they cannot develop their intelligence when they are hungry. That there’s no point in children going to school if they are hungry. AIDS doesn’t kill, what kills is hunger and a lack of access to medical help. That people who have nothing or very little are not happy, it’s only that they don’t know what it is to have something.
We know that some people believe that the image of a hungry child in rags ‘sells’ more than one of a happy child. That happy children ‘sell’ little. In Mediterranea we ‘sell’ happiness, because we believe that all the children of the world, wherever they are, deserve the same and because this happiness is real, any of our members can go and check that this is true.
Read more: http://directhelpngo.blogspot.com/2011/08/various-reflections.html
Diary of Chaveli and Conchi from Sebeta – The School
August 02, 2011
The school is the reason that we are here and the center of activity for our daily routine.
To describe this with appropriate words so that you can understand what we are going through, what we are see, what we are feeling everyday…is very difficult. Because words are irredeemably associated with the meanings that we know and have formed in relation to our own experiences.
Read more: http://directhelpngo.blogspot.com/2011/08/diary-of-chaveli-and-conchi-from-sebeta.html
Look at that Red Box of Chocolates, Nestle would Love Them!
August 02, 2011
They are my “lovely chocolates” from last summer who have been promoted to infants. Well, actually four children are absent from the photo: two children repeated the course (one of them due to their age, but she is so smart; the other one did not stop crying and it was necessary to postpone her entry into the nursery); one stopped coming because of allergies, (so they told me…). In total 26 varieties of sweet chocolates! Look carefully as it’s difficult to choose! I will come back fatter as I eat them all of every morning! I find it very difficult to leave the classroom and would stay until the end of school if I could. They are absolutely gorgeous! I love the new babies but these first ones will always be my favorite chocolates as they were my first!
Read more: http://directhelpngo.blogspot.com/2011/08/look-at-that-red-box-of-chocolates.html
Members Personal Account of Physiotherapy Project
August 01, 2011
Project: Department of Physiotherapy for a Rural Hospital in Ghana
At the beginning of May I opened my email and saw the following communication from the College of Physiotherapists here in the Baleares: ‘The NGO Mediterranea is developing a project in Ghana. Part of this project is to start a physiotherapy dept in a small hospital in the East of the country just where the Volta enters the sea. We need volunteers to help get things started and train the future local team.’
I immediately started to gather more information.
Read more: http://directhelpngo.blogspot.com/2011/08/members-personal-account-of.html
Diary of Ale, Abugida 5, 14 July
August 01, 2011
We got down to work and then Zeri arrived with another suggestion. He had to go and give the money to the elderly people Mediterranea looks after and wanted us to accompany him. So we took the gari (the horse and cart) which we have rented out at the school until 4pm (new this year) so we can use it whenever necessary.
Read more: http://directhelpngo.blogspot.com/2011/08/diary-of-ale-abugida-5-14-july.html
Diary of Chaveli and Conchi from Sebeta – Already 10 Days
July 31, 2011
Our tenth day at Sebeta and it seems that things are progressing, there is still lots to be done for us and for the school, although there is still a long way to go. Today we started to distribute some clothes to those who we considered were most in need since it hasn’t stopped raining since yesterday and has become pretty cold.
Read more: http://directhelpngo.blogspot.com/2011/07/diary-of-chaveli-and-conchi-from-sebeta.html
To Ghana to Prepare for the Opening of a Department of Physiotherapy
July 31, 2011
Ada in Ghana appears to be an idyllic destination for tourists who stay in luxury hotels on the banks of the Volta enjoying their water sports and for the millionaires who have constructed their mansions on the same water front.
The locals live their lives in contrast to this…
Mediterranea started to collaborate with Dangme East Hospital in 2006. So far we have renovated their laboratory with all sorts of material and equipment, taking over many types of medical apparatus and medicines. We have constructed a residence for mothers to stay in when they have to travel from long distances to have their children treated. Previously they had to sleep outside by the river at risk of being attacked by crocodiles or violated.
Now we are returning to start up a new service of Physiotherapy at the hospital, the equipment for which was generously donated by some British members who purchased some 25000 euros worth of equipment and materials.
Read more: http://directhelpngo.blogspot.com/2011/07/to-ghana-to-prepare-for-opening-of.html
Why I Became a Mediterranea Member
July 29, 2011
When I didn’t have money I thought that the best thing would be to share what you have left over with people who don’t have money. But as I was growing up and did have money I became mistrustful of NGO’s. I had heard over the years that NGO’s were a business and that only a small part of what their members gave reached those it was intended for.
… Since then I have read with ever more interest the postings on the blog and I am very happy to form a part of Mediterranea.
Lurdes Escario – Mediterranea Member
Read more: http://directhelpngo.blogspot.com/2011/07/why-i-became-mediterranea-member.html
Diary of Ale, Abugida 4, 10 July
July 27, 2011
It is Friday, and as with all Fridays the mothers of the children come to the school to help with the cleaning. At 8am they were already washing sheets, bibs, carpets… In this way they contribute to a project that looks after their children and they themselves.
Read more: http://directhelpngo.blogspot.com/2011/07/diary-of-ale-abugida-4-10-july.html
Diary of Ale, Abugida 3, 9 July
July 26, 2011
Look how lovely my small E is with her mother. They are all happy! Permanently smiling! I adore Abugida, passing the day receiving hugs and kisses from everyone. Her mother is very beautiful and strong. Who could imagine it has changed their lives.
Read more: http://directhelpngo.blogspot.com/2011/07/diary-of-ale-abugida-3-9-july.html
The Messi Room at Sebeta Continues to Develop
July 25, 2011
The truth is that the experience here in Sebeta is very intense but we are very content. This week we have dedicated ourselves to…
Read more: http://directhelpngo.blogspot.com/2011/07/messi-room-at-sebeta-continues-to.html
Diary of Ale, Abugida 2, 6 July
July 24, 2011
Today my ex babies changed classrooms, they will move up to the “melon class” which is where our room is located. So we are now neighbors. You should have seen them, they are such a scream! I hope my new pupils give me a morning off so that I can spend a day with them.
Read more: http://directhelpngo.blogspot.com/2011/07/diary-of-ale-abugida-2-6-july.html
Additional postings from the Mediterranea blog:
- 07/03 – 07/10 (4)
- 06/12 – 06/19 (3)
- 06/05 – 06/12 (4)
- 05/29 – 06/05 (3)
- 05/15 – 05/22 (6)
- 05/08 – 05/15 (4)
- 05/01 – 05/08 (5)
- 04/24 – 05/01 (3)
- 04/17 – 04/24 (2)
