In November 1991, the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God founded the international cooperation organization "Juan Ciudad ONGD" to promote the health of vulnerable people in Africa, Latin America, and Asia through its 75 social and health centers in 29 countries.
Now this NGO has turned 25 years old, and as explained by Brother JosĂ© MÂȘ Viadero, its director, "We want to remain firm in the option of contributing to the construction of a fair, supportive, sustainable development model, and we are committed, without forgetting others, to a renewed Development Cooperation policy marked by Policy Coherence and with predictable and sufficient resources, always making and sharing our roadmap with our counterparts, to whom we owe ourselves.«.
Last Friday, November 25th, a moving event was held in Madrid, inaugurating the year-long celebration of the 25th Anniversary of Juan Ciudad NGO. Various activities will be held in other parts of Spain to share with all the Brothers and people who are part of and support this organization.
In his speech, Brother Miguel Ăngel Varona, president of the Juan Ciudad Foundation and Provincial of Castilla, highlighted that "As long as there are people in need and suffering, the Hospitaller Order and its organizations will be there to care for them.«.
The event, hosted by journalist MÂȘ Eugenia DĂaz, featured keynote addresses from various personalities who served as a reminder of some of the most important moments in the history of Juan Ciudad ONGD.
The first panel featured Brothers VĂctor MartĂn (who was Provincial of Castilla when this NGO was created), RamĂłn MartĂn (who was Director of the NGO), Fernando AguilĂł (a doctor who lived at the SJD Hospital in Sierra Leone); as well as Brothers from other continents, such as Bartholomew Kamara (current Provincial of the African Province of St. Augustine in Ghana), JosĂ© Briceño Oliva (current Provincial Secretary of the Northern South American Province in Peru), and George Thomas Kizhakkekara (current Director of the Velloor Special Education School in India).
Next, representatives of volunteers and collaborators spoke in a second panel, including Dr. Fernando Rivilla (who has led Pediatric Surgery campaigns in five West African countries for the past 10 years), anesthesiologist Ana BelĂ©n Ortega (who has collaborated in hospitals in Liberia and Sierra Leone), Dr. Teresa MartĂnez (a volunteer in Sierra Leone at the San Rafael Hospital in Madrid), nurse MÂȘ JosĂ© RodrĂguez (a volunteer on numerous occasions in Liberia and also in Sierra Leone during the Ebola epidemic), and Commander Francisco Cantalejo (a member of the Military Aeroevacuation Unit that carried out the repatriation of Brothers Miguel Pajares and Manuel GÂȘ Viejo).
In addition, the new Juan Ciudad NGO institutional video was presented during the event, and two short audiovisual pieces were also shown: one featuring congratulations received from the San Juan de Dios centers in Africa, Latin America, and Asia; and another featuring past and present photographs of Brothers and collaborators of the organization who have passed away during these 25 years of international cooperation.
Finally, there was a concert by the Senegalese percussion and dance quartet "Dakar Troupe," which got the audience singing and dancing.
From Juan Ciudad NGO, we would like to thank all the Brothers and other people who attended this first 25th Anniversary celebration, as well as the organization's volunteers who helped make it happen.
We also want to give special thanks to Banco Santander for its sponsorship, as well as to the Fusara Foundation and its San RomĂĄn y San Antonio School for providing us with the auditorium where the event was held.
See all photos in the Juan Ciudad NGO Facebook.
Written by Adriana Castro TerĂĄn, Head of Communications at Juan Ciudad NGO.
Photos taken by volunteer MarĂa Galiana.
