The Anglican Chaplaincy of St. Andrew,
Costa Del Sol East, Spain
2026 Bishop’s Lent Appeal:
Vale Silves Community Centre, Portugal
Portugal is a beautiful country and a popular tourist and retirement destination. Despite themany tourists, about 2.2 million people (about 20% of the population), are at risk of poverty orsocial exclusion. From 2011 through to 2015 Portugal endured a financial crisis and thepandemic has contributed to the difficulties in overcoming this. Great economic and socialinequalities exist.
About the Vale Silves Community Centre
The Centre was founded in 1990 by Dra Maria Armanda Silva, originally as a Parents’Association seeking to improve the local primary school. That small initiative grew into a widercommunity project addressing the needs of families in the district. Over the years, through EUgrants, donated building materials, and significant personal sacrifice—including Dra Armandataking out a mortgage on her own home—the Centre has become a fully operational,independent, non-political, not-for-profit organisation serving the parish of Boliqueime, in the Algarve.
Our long-standing partnership
St Vincent’s Chaplaincy Algarve has cooperated closely with the Centre for many years. Ourpartnership includes supporting the elderly outreach programme, providing annual Christmasgift bags for all elderly users and their carers, assisting with fundraising, and maintaining a regularpastoral presence. This long and trusted relationship means we have had the privilege ofwitnessing first-hand, the commitment, integrity, and compassion with which Dra Armanda andher team serve the most vulnerable in the community.
What the Vale Silves Community Centre does
The Centre provides essential support to vulnerable families, children, and the elderly in theregion as a practical outworking of their vision to love God and neighbour:
• Elderly Home-Care Programme – 50 elderly people receive personalised daily care,including hygiene assistance, meals, house cleaning, and regular home visits from a team of 20carers. Many are bedbound and entirely dependent on this service.
• Food Support – A large food bank operates three times a week, providing vital supplies to families living with significant hardship.
• Children’s Services – Childcare for working parents, cooked meals for schoolchildren, and access to recreational and developmental activities.
• Community Outreach – Distribution of recycled clothing and furniture, laundryservices, exercise classes, and case-by-case practical support when urgent needs arise.
Why This Appeal Matters
Despite doing extraordinary work with whole families, from the youngest to the oldest, theCentre’s finances are fragile. The Centre can offer home-care support for the elderly bycharging only a small fee for the service. That fee is covered partly through governmentallowances and partly by the service users themselves. However, because many of them live onextremely low state pensions, they are often left with no more than €60 to cover all theirremaining needs, including food and medication.The care they receive from the Centre is invaluable — without it, they would never be able toafford any form of private home care. At the same time, the small contributions they make donot come close to covering the real cost of providing the service. This means the Centre mustrely heavily on donations in order to continue offering this essential support to some of themost vulnerable people in the parish. Dra Amanda is a practising Catholic - a little lady with abig and infectious faith. I find their work inspiring, and there is no doubt that additional supportreceived from this Lent Appeal would make a significant impact.
Use of Lent Appeal Funds
Contributions from the Lent Appeal would directly help to:
• Sustain the elderly home-care programme
• Ensure meals for children and continued food bank provision
• Strengthen outreach to isolated and housebound elderly people
• Provide flexibility to respond to urgent and unforeseen needs.
I encourage us all to give generously and prayerfully to this work.
Details of how to do that can be found below.
Yours sincerely in Christ,
+Robert Gibraltar in Europe
How you can donate to the Bishop in Europe’s Lent Appeal 2026:
Via your Chaplaincy - baskets will be available throughout February and March in each worship centre..
By cheque made out to: Diocese in EuropeDiocese in Europe Board of Finance14, Tufton StLondon SW1P 3QZ
(Please add the words “Lent Appeal 2026” to any note you send with the cheque)
By bank transfer:
Account number: 40317039 Sort code: 20-06-13 IBAN: GB16 BUKB 2006 1340 3170 39 Swift/ BIC: BUKBGB22
On the Diocese in Europe Just Giving page:https://www.justgiving.com/diocese-ineurope