Algarve Emporium Charity History

I began my charitable work in  2017 by raising funds to help an elderly Portuguese woman escape domestic violence. It was hard work for my first dabble but she remained in a safe situation for the rest of her life, smiling and enjoying life. I thought that was it for me. I had helped someone but I was retired due to ill health and it was time for me to enjoy the good life. Rest, relax and feel better.

However in 2018 I became aware of the many homeless in Albufeira and decided that I could help them. I collected clothes, blankets, back packs  and sleeping bags and visited the homeless on the streets and in buildings that were totally unfit for human habitation. At that point I was simply passing on donated goods to them.

In early 2019  I took the name Algarve Emporium Charity. At this time working with other small teams of people who were helping the needy and we formed the official registered organisation, now known as Associação Guarda-Chuva. Trevor Mann became the second member of Algarve Emporium Charity volunteers and we had a good routine set up. Our expenses were low as we only bought some toiletries. Everything else, that we gave to the homeless, was donated.

Christmas 2019 was a big venture for us. we invited the homeless to join us, have a hot drink and a hair cut if they wanted it. Followed by the opportunity to take away bags of warm clothes, blankets and a gift bag with toiletries and a few other essentials.

We had a routine, the homeless knew we would meet them monthly and help them receive what they needed

Unfortunately the Covid pandemic abruptly ended what we were doing as it did for many people and many activities. Everybody’s movements were suddenly  restricted. It became difficult for us to leave our municipality, Silves, to travel into Albufeira and then we were informed that the homeless were being  moved into hostels.

Another charity Support for Families, Su & Mike Davis, were also limited in their movements, lived in Albufeira municipality and were previously helping people in Silves municipality. We were asked if we would take on the families she was helping in Tunes, the small town  were we live.

Tunes is home to many people who would normally be working in the tourist sector in Albufeira. With Covid, there were no tourists, therefore no work. A problem for many. We started giving bags of food once a week to families in Tunes.

There was just 2 of us at that time and we decided that we could handle the organisation of collecting food donations, raising funds to pay for the remaining food and distributing the bags of groceries to 20 families. But our waiting list kept growing!

We had to change what we were doing as there was no sign of the epidemic, and the problems it caused, ending any time soon. Instead we changed the contents of the food bag with more focus on fresh meat and vegetables as tins and carbohydrates were filling but not healthy in the long run.

We also made the decision to give a bag of food to last for 2 weeks. That way we could help 40 families. We knew that what we gave wouldn’t supply families with everything they needed but the important groceries were in there.

The instant doubling of our number of needy families, of course, put us under pressure to raise a lot more money in donations and expand the team of volunteers.

We then needed to not only have donations which were passed directly to the families such as food, clothes and household items but we needed a lot of goods to sell for cash.  We also needed volunteers to assist in collecting & sorting donations. People to help sell things on Facebook and at car boot sales and people to help us distribute the food.

As we all know, covid restrictions finally ended, the tourists finally returned, bringing with them the jobs. We thought that we were then at the end of the project but NO!

Normal life had changed, prices had gone up, people had debts and so we continued to support them while they got back on their feet.

The number of families we help is slowly reducing. However we were still left with some who we know may never get back on their feet. Elderly who could no longer be helped by their younger family members because of rising prices. People with health problems and can’t work. Pensioners whose rent has increased while their pensions haven’t. Then there are those who need help in the short term while applying for help from the benefits system which can prove to be slow.

For whatever reason the people of Tunes can come to us and find out if they qualify for our help. If they fit the criteria, and they do receive help. Our families are regularly re interviewed to see if their situation has changed. Do they still qualify? We now, currently are helping 20 families. Some we anticipate will come off the list soon but others will of course appear.

We have, since that time, been overwhelmed by the support of the community donating goods for us to sell to raise funds and also donating food. And also by the number of people who have volunteered either for a short time or for a long time.

It takes time, energy, love of helping and friendship to do what we do. Many of us are retired, several of us have poor health and I am eternally grateful to everyone for whatever they do to help us.

Love to you all.

Caroline Langston