Visit to the Franciscan Shelter for Men at Palma de Gandia
The day-to-day work is performed by just three monks supported by a team of volunteers who together care for the residents around the clock. As you may be able to see from our photos the buildings and gardens are beautifully maintained.
Everything is very calm and peaceful and walking around there is the feel of more traditional cloisters, which was surely the intention. Paula and I were both awestruck by how special it all felt. Another photo shows the large paella pan and vegetables that were being prepared for the communal lunch.
On Sunday August 10th Paula and I made our first ‘drugs run’ to Gandia, delivering to the Shelter boxes and bags of medicines kindly donated by our members. You will see that the boot of our car was quite full!
The Shelter has developed over 40 years from very modest beginnings and now has capacity for 65 homeless men, many of whom suffer from mental or physical illness and some of whom are terminally ill. The doors are open to all nationalities,
and the men can be of any or no religion.
The hospice is funded entirely by charitable donations, not a cent is received in State aid. The buildings have been paid for over the years by generous donations and bequests, often from members of the Catholic and Church of England congregations, both of which use the Shelter’s church for their services.
It seems that the monks are also not shy about asking for help. The smart new car park, it turns out that this was completed for free shortly before our visit, after the monks approached the contractors working on a nearby motorway extension!
The day-to-day work is performed by just three monks supported by a team of volunteers who together care for the residents around the clock. As you may be able to see from our photos the buildings and gardens are beautifully maintained. Everything is very calm and peaceful and walking around there is the feel of more traditional cloisters, which was surely the intention. Paula and I were both awestruck by how special it all felt. Another photo shows the large paella pan and vegetables that were being prepared for the communal lunch.
We really enjoyed our visit and felt privileged to be there. A big thank you therefore goes to Lewis Rudge from Denia u3a, who contacted us with the request for help and then welcomed us on-site and showed us around. Rather like the bicycles that we collected for Valencia last year, it is great that we can be of help to those less fortunate than ourselves, even when we are not handing out cash donations.
We were told that the men in the Shelter had often worked for cash as fruit pickers etc and had never been registered in any State records. For this reason, they cannot obtain the medicines they need through the SIP system. Fortunately, three doctors offer their services pro bono, and they can decide which of the donated medicines can safely be used.
Denia u3a has been collecting and delivering drugs for a year and we will also continue to make regular visits. So please bring any unwanted medicines (in or out of date) to future General Assemblies or coffee mornings. The monks also appreciate any gifts of men’s underwear or easy to dress clothes such as jogging bottoms.
Chris Barrett