Children’s charity ACCA, set up to support youngsters in need across the Algarve, continues to raise funding through a range of activities that change hundreds of lives every year.
Be it through the supply of glasses for children with sight problems, therapy for kiddies with psychological needs, medication and treatment for youngsters with severe health problems or special equipment for those with a physical handicap, ACCA is there to help, support and make a difference. And at Christmas time, the charity brings a smile to small faces through its Angels programme by providing gifts for kids – 1,700 in 2015 – who would otherwise receive nothing.
Enthusiastic volunteers who help the Committee with fundraising at a host of events across the year add considerable weight to the ACCA effort and thanks to them, along with the generosity of the charity’s many sponsors, mean that homes and institutions can receive the assistance they so desperately need.
Every request that comes up is scrupulously analysed by the Committee to ensure that the cause warrants ACCA’s collaboration and the time, expertise, and funding necessary. An example is the case of 21-month-old Simão Gonçalves Pereira who has Microcefalia, a condition which prevents the growth of the brain and physical development. Mother Sandra had a difficult birth and the baby was in hospital for a week with a broken shoulder. Simão is very small for his age and has little muscle control. He is currently receiving treatment at the Faro Hospital, under pediatric neurologist Dr André Pereira and physiotherapist Dr Catia, and also attends APPC twice a week for therapy. Simao’s parents pay for him to have a further three sessions of therapy a week privately at a cost of €560 per month and in addition, cover the €80 per month cost for a place in a local crèche, which allows mother Sandra to work so that she can help meet the financial requirements of the family.
After a thorough assessment of immediate needs, ACCA – having first put Sandra in contact with Pais em Rede, a support network for parents of disabled children – agreed a list of essentials, the most urgent of which were a special wheelchair at a cost in excess of €5,000, a car seat (normal ones do not have sufficient support), a seat for use in the bath and, importantly, help in sourcing additional therapies at a reduced cost.
Thanks to activities arranged by Pinheiros Golf Club, who were the first to be aware of the Pereiras’ predicament, close to €8,000 has been raised. And the family themselves have been active, launching appeals through a Facebook page – www.facebook.com/causasimao – and by collecting high-quality plastic bottle tops for recycling (the depot to where they are delivered sends the money directly to centres where Simão’s treatments are carried out). Sandra, who works tirelessly in her desire to do the very best for her younger child, has also organised for Faro football club to give her donations from the entrance fees of one match, and has been awarded a share of charity kitty from a group of Canadians.
Little Simão now has his wheelchair and bath seat, delivered just before Christmas, and his special car seat will be delivered shortly. As is the norm for the charity, ACCA will remain in close contact with the Pereira family to ensure that any special needs can be addressed.
This is just a single example of the work carried out by ACCA. The organisation is committed to improving the lives and health of youngsters in need and its 2016 activities include many special events that provide enjoyment for the participants and funding for future cases where help makes the difference.
To find out more about ACCA’s work, or to volunteer or become a sponsor, please contact Wanda Crawford on wandacrawfordspa@yahoo.com.
