On a day when the skies opened over the Algarve (Tuesday 10th Feb 2015) and many of us were temporarily plunged into darkness, a ray of sunshine in the form of our British Ambassador Kirsty Hayes radiated warmly throughout a special lunch in Portimão which was hosted by the embassy.
In addition to meeting several British subjects invited to the event in appreciation of their contribution to the Algarve’s British community, the Ambassador also visited some of the organisations represented.
Later the same day, Alison Blair of Madrugada Associação in Praia da Luz, was delighted to introduce the Ambassador to the valuable work of the charity. Arriving at Madrugada’s Support Centre shortly after sunset and during a torrential downpour, Kirsty Hayes, accompanied by her Consul, Simona Demure and Vice Consul Clive Jewell, toured the Centre and learned about the many services available to anyone living in the Algarve with a diagnosis of a life limiting illness.
Alison presented some key members of her team who talked about the challenges of introducing a new approach to end of life care in the home. In addition, the Ambassador heard about the charity’s plans to open the first of several small ‘hospice’ units in the Algarve. Mark, a patient currently benefiting from Madrugada support, was pleased to share his experience and talked of the very real difference the Support Centre has made during a difficult time.
Madrugada, now in its fifth year, has evolved quickly into an organisation that is really making a difference by supporting people throughout serious illness and during end of life care, extending all its services to close family members. Alison emphasised that nothing would have been accomplished without the hard work of 80+ volunteers and the regular fundraising events and donations received from a community that understands the importance of the vital services that Madrugada provide.
Before leaving, Kirsty expressed a genuine and on-going interest in Madrugada’s projects and thanked the members present for their contribution to Madrugada and the Algarve community.
