LISBON’S first charity cake and sweet fair, organised by the câmara, was a five-day event held recently in the city’s Edward VII Park. Local organisations set up stalls selling traditional Portuguese cakes and tarts, as well as international delicacies from countries as far away as India, Ukraine and Russia. Helena Lopes da Costa, administrative officer for Lisbon City Council’s Social Action Group, said: “The aim of this initiative is to rediscover traditional recipes and bring together charitable and cultural organisations.” Mina Rajoni, of the Lisbon Hindu Society, was busy preparing traditional Indian savoury snacks (samosas and bhajis), as well as sweets (bendas and barfis). “I’m here to help the Hindu Society and to create greater public awareness of the delicious delicacies that the Indian subcontinent has to offer,” she explained. Volunteers Carla and Carina were raising cash for the Catholic Resgate Association, which was founded in 1923 and takes care of girls from broken homes. The Instituto Conde de Agrolongo in Lisbon, which looks after 35 children at risk between the ages of 11 and 18, and the Instituto Condessa de Cuba, which has 36 girls in its care aged between three and 12, were also represented at the fair.
