The first stone of a charity-funded old people’s home was laid recently at a festa in Pêra and blessed by the Bishop of Faro, Dom Manuel Madureira Dias.
Silves Câmara President, Isabel Soares, was also there, along with the Pêra Junta de Freguesia President and the Civil Governor, to support the efforts made by the people of Pêra in getting this project off the ground. For the past six years, around 50 volunteers in Pêra have put together a series of festas, which have involved nine nights in all, with music, food and a celebrity guest.
Between 500 and 1,200 people show up for these events in order to help raise funds for the old people’s home, due to be built in Pêra. The volunteers all work tirelessly, organising everything from the drinks to the construction of the stage for the celebrity guests to perform on, and even to the post-party clean-up.
The old people’s home is being funded and supported by three separate institutions – the State, Silves Câmara and the festa committee, made up of nine volunteers. The home is entirely charity based – no one will profit from the venture. As of yet, there is no completion date, but, at the most recent festa, the laying of the first stone marked significant progress in this project.
So far, volunteers have raised around 150,000 euros. However, Dermot Staveacre, one of the committee members, says there is still a long way to go. “We probably need to double that in order to raise sufficient funds for this project,” he explains. “It really is impressive that so many people in the town of Pêra are willing to work so hard to make this happen.”
