The President of the Legislative Assembly of Madeira is aware that “Madeira will be experiencing, perhaps, the greatest economic and social crisis of our lives”, which will lead to the closure of many companies, an exponential increase in unemployment and an increase in poverty “ like we’ve never seen in years ”.
On a visit today to the premises of the Banco Alimentar Contra a Fome in Madeira, José Manuel Rodrigues considered that social support institutions will be “the great weapon” that the public sector has to help fight hunger, not least because he has no doubts that new poor people will appear. The president of ALM, who donated five thousand euros to the Food Bank to support the 50 other institutions he works with, reinforced the work of these bodies.
Aware that there are those who cannot help because he is experiencing difficulties, the head of the regional parliament made an appeal to the Madeirans who can make their contribution, not only to BA (Banco Alimentar), but also to other institutions with a view to combating social exclusion.
This “so that we will not have troubled periods or conflicts in our social peace, which we have been having until this moment. This economic crisis is going to turn into a social pandemic. We are trying to win – and we will win – the health pandemic, but the social and economic pandemic will take some time to win, it will take many victims and it is necessary to minimize the risks and damages of this pandemic ”, he warned.
José Manuel Rodrigues also pointed out the role that the representatives of the people, namely the deputies, can play in this period, who “have a greater responsibility to be close to the people who are going through difficulties”, remembering the changes in the assembly’s bylaws. In the near future, there will be more parliamentary work based on the diplomas issued by the Regional Government to face the crisis. He also said that the public savings are being deeply affected by the measures that are being taken in favor of the population and the economy.
Fátima Aveiro, responsible for the Food Bank, gave recognition to the “giant step” taken in supporting the institution, with the donation, by the Madeiran Legislative Assembly, of five thousand euros. Aid that hopes to be reflected in the donation by other entities to the Food Bank Against Hunger in Madeira, at a time when requests for help have been increasing, due to the covid-19.
“We did not notice a drop in donations, but significant growth, because the companies that regularly donate took into account the moment we went through,” said Fátima Aveiro, not forgetting yet the hotels and restaurants that donated their surpluses, at a time when they had to close doors. Institutional support, such as Social Security, was also mentioned.
This official has no doubt that there will be an increase in the request for aid from BA and other institutions, due to the current pandemic context, which will cause new poor people to emerge and will also affect middle class families, who are not used to asking for food aid. . Therefore, Fátima Aveiro stressed that asking for help is not a shame.