Experts say recession is ending but local associations say more are going hungry than ever

[Janet]

Today came the news that Spain is "out of recession", with a growth of 0.1% between July and September. This is "growth" in the sense that it represents a positive figure, but hardly a statistic to encourage more than a flicker of hope, particularly since this is peak season for Spain, with the most visitors in this part of the year than any other. It would be surprising if the figures did not look good, and some might say that the economy's growth of just 0.1% during that season is disappointing in its own right.

The Canaries have done slightly better than Spain as a whole, with growth of 0.6% in the third quarter of 2013. Nonetheless, food banks say that they have never been under such pressure, and that poverty is at an all time high in the islands. A case in point is the local neighbourhood association Aveti in Tejina de Isora, which says it has distributed more than 6 tons of food so far this year to some 200 families in the Guía de Isora community who are not just struggling, but going hungry.

Aveti says that it is able to distribute supplies thanks to agreements with the Food Bank and Guía de Isora Social Services. The association adds that any families in the area who have difficulty in feeding themselves can ask for help, they just have to contact Aveti, either by phone on 922 857 898 or by email to info@aveti.es.  Local families are also welcome to visit in person: the office is on the left of the main road just past the Tejina agricultural co-op heading from Adeje towards Guía de Isora.

Aveti is the local association for Tejina, but many other areas will have the same or similar system. Anyone who is struggling simply needs to find out their local neighbourhood association. At worst, they will be directed to help for their area; at best, they will receive help directly as is the case in Tejina. Meanwhile, economists say that the latest figures show that the Canaries will be out of recession by the end of the year. Let's hope they're right, and that the last quarter's positive turn is not just a summer blip that could well have been expected. JA

[Myrtle Hogan-Lance]

Janet,

Aveti is not open.  The part where the post office is open from 0900-1030 has no one there, except the postwoman when she has to be there and she has nothing to do with Aveti.  Nobody from Aveti is there.  And when the PO closes, it's closed. 

I would like to help but if I live here and cannot find a way to contact them, what can I do?  One of my neighbours (diagonally across the street) is a stalwart in the asociación but he's been working horrendously unsociable hours and we have not seen each other in months. 

Sorry to say but this is typical disorganisation. Now that you have posted this I will speak to the postwoman and seek out my neighbours who are involved (frustratingly, ran into one of them coming down the mountain today as we were going up, but I didn't know).  I wish they would help us to help them.

Do you have contact details for anybody in Aveti?

BTW, not your fault, they like to advertise their solutions without having them in place.  Just keep my name out of it.

[poker]

+0,1 and here + 0,6?
If it wasent any troubble in Egypt we would be in negative for sure .

I don't see any end in recession with sutch small numbers of increase .

[Janet]

I dunno, myrtle, this is just what was being reported in the press. Hopefully they'll respond to emails at least ...

I'd be grateful if you could find out any more, because they say the public (in need) can just turn up there ... !

[Myrtle Hogan-Lance]

Well Janet they are bigging themselves up as usual.  After 9 months of promising, they gave us all plastic jugs for collection of used cooking oil.  Many months after that, receptacles arrived for said oil, which were too small to take the jugs they gave us.  I don't even think the receptacles are from Aveti; I think they are from the ayuntamiento. 

The restaurant is not open (shut down for months) so if people cannot go to the PO, where there is no one, what can they do? 

How many of their hungry constituents have computers and internet access FFS? 

Aveti is composed of complete fantasists I am sad to say. 

Will see what I can find out and let you know.  Don't hold your breath.

Just fucking pisses me off.  Would be happy to help vecinos. 

[El Profesor]

Tis a load of bollocks, nothing has changed. It is still impossible to do anything in this country.

The parasites would rather be the parasites of a sick animal than purge the beast and cure it.

Ireland . . . now that's a different story, up and away.