AMBASSADOR CALLS IN ON THE SAMARITANS

During a two-day visit to the Alicante province, Her Majesty´s Ambassador to Spain, Simon Manley, took time out of his schedule to speak to the Samaritans.

Accompanied by the newly appointed Alicante Consul, Sarah-Jane Morris, the visit was to mark the farewell of Chris Sumter, president of Samaritans in Spain.

Having worked tirelessly to create a legacy of help and support for the needy, many of the team behind the Samaritans initiative can only offer praise for what has been achieved under her guide. Chris joined the Trustees in autumn of 2008 and completed her listening training in the following spring. She was responsible for the People Sub Group and took over the Training – revamping the modules and training trainers, before becoming the CEO in 2011 and then President in November, 2011.

Largely praised for the development of outreach work and physical support in the heart of the community, the creation of locations such as the drop-in centre in the Punta Marina commercial centre are largely attributed to her dedication and forward thinking attitude.

Unfortunately, Chris is now moving back to the UK, along with her husband, Lubbertus, who has also worked hard on behalf of the charity working on the website, press articles, banking, collection of donations of goods for the shop and a whole range of other activities. There is no doubt however that the legacy will continue thanks to the dedication of all of the volunteers and supporters behind the Samaritans in Spain.

Raising a glass to her dedication, Mr Manley cut tut a cake in celebration of her work, before heading off to a meeting with a number of municipal mayors from areas of key interest to the immigrant population, including Antonio Zapata from Orihuela, and Eduardo Dolón from Torrevieja. The mayors from ten town halls represent 50% of all British nationals registered in the Alicante consular district and 21% of all British nationals registered in Spain.

Before returning to Madrid, the Ambassador said, “I am impressed by the way local authorities and the voluntary sector support British nationals who visit and live in this area.

“However, I hope that we can do still more to help the most vulnerable Britons here and to overcome issues like the language barrier. In the discussion with local mayors we made good progress, working with them to encourage engagement and integration.

“It has been wonderful to see the work done by charities in the area, and I would encourage people to sign up and support their local charities, some of which are crying out for additional volunteers.

“I’ve also seen some great examples of joint working such as the SATE office in Benidorm and the help that Samaritans in Spain and other voluntary organisations give to vulnerable British nationals.

“I hope that our team in Alicante will continue to build on these successes to ensure that Britons get the support they need”.

The mayors and the Ambassador agreed on the importance of British nationals registering on the Padrón and, if they did so by the deadline of 31 December for the next local elections, voting in the upcoming polls to make sure they have their say and their voices are heard.

Filed under: http://www.theleader.info/article/46370/

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