Lodge of Tranquillity donate to Help at Home

The Costa Blanca Lodge of Tranquillity was founded in 2005 and they are now in their seventh year of operation.

Help at home is new NGO initiative set up to help those who need assistance at home and on Monday they were delighted to be presented with a cheque for more than €900 from the Costa Blanca Lodge of Tranquillity No. 52. In June 2011 the Tranquillity Lodge had their annual dinner dance and held an auction to raise a funds for Charity. Their chosen charity was HAH, which they feel helps bridge a vital gap in the Spanish social services sector.

The Costa Blanca Lodge of Tranquillity was founded in 2005 and they are now in their seventh year of operation. They meet officially once a quarter, on the last Saturday of January, April, June and September in the Montepiedra Hotel on the Orihuela Costa however, socially they have monthly luncheon club trips, organise fund raising activities, coffee mornings, fashion shows and in February they are planning on having a Mad Hatters Tea Party. Tranquillity Lodge was the first Lady Masons founded in Spain and attracts membership from Alicante to Lorca, with some members flying in from the UK to attend the bigger events and meetings. At present, there are about 40-members in the Lodge but any Lady who wishes to apply, may do so, in the first instance by contacting Membership Secretary Nester Hay on 966 791 731 or sending her an email to nestarhay@hotmail.com

Now don’t be scared ladies! The days of funny handshakes, secret codes, three knocks on the door followed by turning around twice, are more an urban myth and legend and couldn’t be further from the truth in reality! The men may still do it, but the ladies do not! The aims and objectives of the Branch are fairly simple; to uphold the statutes of the Masonic Lodge, for friendship, support and socialising and charity fundraising, being the main ones. All meetings are conducted in English although they do have a couple of International members, from Holland and Russia.

At Asturias Restaurant on Monday, the money raised was presented to Norah Bond from HAH. Hon. Treasurer Linda Hall did the honours and said that ‘she was delighted to be able to give the donation to Help at Home, to be able to assist them in some small way with all the work that they are doing for families and individuals, who have nowhere else to turn to, in the community.’ Norah responded with words of thanks and said that ‘The cheque will be used to purchase some much needed equipment, such as wheelchairs, Pillows, towels and mattresses, to help their Nurses do their job to the best of their ability.’

Help at Home was founded on 1 May, 2011, and over that time have had a major impact on health services within the Valencian Community. They have secured premises for a small office and a charity shop at El Paraisio Bar, Restaurant and Sports Complex in Torrevieja. They are a registered Charity CV-01-048327-A, within the Valencian Community and as such are bring together other self help groups such as Caritas, Age Concern and others, from all areas of the Costa Blanca, and not limited to just Torrevieja and the Orihuela Costa, for instance, as they believe that those that require their services should not be discriminated against just because of where they happen to live and municipal borders. To this end, HAH are also registered as an official Charity Organisation in Torrevieja and Orihulea with applications also being planned for Quesada, Rojales, San Fulgencia, Pilar de La Horadada and Santa Pola to soon follow.

HAH have just published their first newsletter, this one in English but the second edition will also be available in Spanish. Along with actually having trained and legally qualified nursing staff available to visit those in need, they are also working closely with Caritas and helping to provide workshops and training programs for the unemployed and those awaiting documentation to live in Spain. HAH are working closely with other groups to raise awareness and provide needed action to highlight the plight of some International residents, who are not entitled to, or are missed by, the Spanish Social Services and Health Schemes.

They hope to be moved into their new premises at El Paraiso Restaurant in January 2012 with an open day to be announced soon, to which everyone is invited. Norah wanted to take the opportunity to ‘thank everyone at the Tranquillity Lodge for their generous donation and to wish all of our supporters, those in need, friends and family, all the very best for the festive season the New Year.’ For further details or you are interested in becoming an 'active' HAH volunteer in the Torrevieja area , please phone 659 245 552 or email: admin@puma22.org  or Mar Menor area tel: 968 134 978 or email helpathomespain@gmail.com 

Keith Nicol