We Offer More Than Just Food

As I repeatedly tell you, our main focus is to give groceries to the families that we help in Tunes.

I have also  mentioned in previous blogs that, with the help of other charities and individuals  we also make Christmas special for all. At Easter we do the English thing and treat children to chocolate. Then in September we give, to all the school children in our families, back to school back packs that are full of what they need to return to school in.

What you maybe don’t know though is that we also put out boxes of assorted goods for the families to help themselves to, every Friday. The boxes vary from week to week depending on the donations we receive. Clothes & shoes, small household items & linens. These things are always popular.

However we always strive to find new ways to help and to empower our families.

Some of the people we help have also become volunteers with the charity, taking the position of family liaison. Although Kay Cox, one of our volunteers, speaks Portuguese it’s sometimes easier for the Portuguese to talk to each other. In the past

For a while, one of our Portuguese volunteers would give the families a chance to chat over coffee. As they say ‘a trouble shared is a trouble halved.’ When we have a new volunteer we hope to do it again.

We have offered to help improve their English. This was during the tough covid times when people had lots of time and no work. We hoped that it would improve their chances of getting work in the tourist industry when the tourists finally came back.

We have given coaching to some of the ladies on how to be more proactive in job hunting and improve interview skills.

Our Portuguese volunteers have also, at times offered help and advice on what extra benefits could be applied for and who can be approached to receive government help.

Our latest initiative is the power of prayer. Some of our families are going through very difficult times. Two of our volunteers, Elaine & Stephan Cloete, who attend the International Evangelical Church of the Algarve, pray with people who feel it would be beneficial to them, and bring them peace.

We are always looking for new ways to help.