Cycling for Solidarity

The story began in 1999. At the time, Maria de Lourdes sold her house in Vilamoura with the plan of funding a home for the many abandoned animals of the Algarve. A space offering 3.500 square metres – born from the force of this one woman’s conviction – is today a sanctuary for 170 cats and 190 dogs and puppies.

Since the beginning, Lourdes, now 71, has been an indefatigable fighter. She’s saved thousands of sick and neglected animals, whose alternative destiny would almost certainly have been death. She’s built all the compounds – the shelters, the clinics, the cats’ house – a place full of toys, chairs and comfortable little corners, perfect for catnaps.

To keep the whole infrastructure fully-functional, €6.000 are needed, per month. But that amount rarely comes in. Maria de Lourdes uses her own pension and that of her husband – the result of several years working in England in the real-estate market – as well as help from private people, to make up the difference.

“This year has been very difficult – just like all the other years! But now the problem is that we have less people helping with donations. They simply don’t have the money to give. I can see this, a lot”, she told us.

Income also comes in from the sale of second-hand clothes and articles from charity shops in São Brás de Alportel and Quarteira – all staffed by volunteers. The «Nandi Fund» in Lagos also supports Goldra’s kennels, as does Albufeira’s «Amigos dos gatos». Elsewhere, volunteer fund-raisers organise golf tournaments and other one-off initiatives to help bring in money.

“I really like it when people come to me with fund-raising ideas! I think we all have a duty to help our four-legged friends. If we didn’t, the world would be much more worse off.”

At the moment, the kennels have three paid staff members – two full-timers, and a part-timer. “It’s a really dirty job!” Maria de Lourdes tells, but done with great dedication. Staff need to constantly clean the animals’ living quarters, and feed them. The working day begins at 8.30am, and ends at 5pm. Lourdes is almost always present, and doesn’t have time for anything else.

The main problem these days is the rate at which animals arrive. Every week there are new arrivals – from all types of situations. From people who can no longer keep their household pets - for financial/ family or professional reasons -, to third parties who simply find dogs and cats roaming the streets and bring them in hoping they’ll be sheltered.

“It’s very difficult to say no”, says Lourdes. On arrival, all animals are professionally examined. To avoid contagion, sick animals are isolated in a separate “hospital” unit. The doctor who normally works for the «Quintinha», charges a symbolic price for her work – but even so, veterinary expenses and the cost of medications take up a considerable part of the available budget.

This year, a young Irish vet came to Goldra to spend her holidays working as a volunteer. One of the greatest veterinary necessities is castration/ sterilisation – as a way of controlling the animal population.

We asked Maria de Lourdes if she believed that her work had made any difference? “I don’t know, that’s for other people to say – but I’d like to believe that it has, and that there are now less dogs and cats suffering on the streets.”

Regarding the future, “I will continue until I die. I’ve already tried to organise someone else interested to continue this work – but up until now, no-one has seemed interested in taking on this enormous responsibility”, she concluded.

Suitable candidates to run the kennels may be difficult to find – but what Colin Worswick, 43, is more keen to find are cyclists, willing to take part in the fund-raising cycle ride along the picturesque, rural Via Algarviana tracks and pathways. Colin is one of the main organisers for the event.

“Yes, our objective is to get people interested in taking part for this cause”, he told us. To promote the ride, Colin and three friends have established a fund-raising organisation, «Ecoaidalgarve» - the idea being, if they’re successful with Goldra, they’ll continue fund-raising for social concerns in the Algarve.

Colin, who has lived in Albufeira for nine years, has a special love of animals – particularly as he was raised in the company of many. His father used to train animals for films and television advertising. For example, the white cat that appeared on Blofeld’s lap – Blofeld being one of British secret agent James Bond 007’s arch enemies – belonged to Colin’s father.

As he explained, there are four ways people can participate in the fund-raising event. First, they can become sponsors. With €200 – even €50 – you could have your name or company logo used in the event’s merchandising (T-shirts, billboards, etc.) Another way is to sponsor a cyclist. How? For example, giving him or her a certain amount per kilometre cycled. That way, the cyclist is given a boost to make it to the very end. Each participant can ask friends and acquaintances to write down what they’ll give, and put it on a sponsor form.

One of the most special participants is four-legged Layla – who Colin says is in excellent shape for the journey and will keep up with leading cyclists all the way. She’s also looking for a generous sponsor!

According to Colin, there’s no reason not to take part in this ride. The organisation will provide bikes to rent for a symbolic fee of 20 euros. The “off” will take place from Albufeira’s pet shop «Paws for Pets» on 7th November.It’s not imperative to cycle the whole distance through the new ecovia – what’s needed is simply good will, and the desire to make a difference.