Early this week, I had the privilege to pay a visit to our partner Federatia Filantropia in Romania.
During the two-day intense study visit I was not only presented the organisation and the admirable job they are doing across the country but I was also given the opportunity to visit some social projects and talk to employees, patients, and volunteers.
There are 2 centers to which my attention has been drawn in particular, the Sfântul Nectarie Palliative Care Center in Bucharest, and the Sfântul Nicolae Rehabilitation Physiotherapy Center in Brasov.
St. Nectarios center provides palliative care services for adults with endocrine-related cancer,
and it is committed to improving their quality of life through a complex of medical, psychological, and spiritual care. The center offers its services to adults with progressive end-stage metastatic cancer who do not have families or no one can take care of. St. Nicolas center is a specialized center located in the heart of Transylvania offering high quality care for patients suffering all types of trauma, physical issues, pain, and aging disorders.
During the visits, I was pleased to have the chance to talk (with my guides’ linguistic support) to some of the patients hosted in the 2 centers. The thing that surprised me the most was to listen to the reasons why they feel truly blessed to be treated there… It is not only a matter of the best medical services they can get or the proximity of the centers to their homes and families. Above all, they appreciate the familiar environment of the structures, as well as the smile and the words of comfort they are continuously offered by the staff.
I was most impressed by the strength of feeling those people expressed towards the doctors, nurses and volunteers working there, and on my way home I thought that is probably diaconia’s biggest force. Above the 30,000 high-quality services provided by our members, what really makes us different is the diaconal historical commitment to putting the human being first. Placing humanity, listening and compassion at the very heart of our action in sharp contrast with a “customer-oriented” world makes us diaconia. It is a call of solidarity that our members will keep responding, in order to humanize the social care sector and comfort all people in need.
Have a great weekend,
Antonio