Phone call from UNICEF offices on Monday, 0730: “Neil can you fit in a visit from the director of Barcelona Football Club on Wednesday afternoon? He wants to visit the Blantyre Child Protection Team”
Neil (thinking shirts signed by Messi, tickets for the Nou Camp etc): “I think I could squeeze it in...”
Neil (thinking shirts signed by Messi, tickets for the Nou Camp etc): “I think I could squeeze it in...”
Turned out to be the director of ‘la Fundació’ – the charity set up by Barca supporting projects all over the world. Rather than take money from sponsors, the team wear shirts with ‘UNICEF’ on the front of them. Profits from the shirt sales go mainly to HIV/AIDS and children’s work in Sub-Saharan Africa. Dr Marta Segú had heard about what was happening in Blantyre and asked for a visit.
The picture shows members of the Child Protection Team (Including a magistrate, social workers, 2 community child protection workers, a police victim support officer and me, together with some of the UNICEF staff team). We didn’t get any shirts, but we did get a pendant to hang in the office of the new ‘One-stop centre’ when it’s built in Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital!
For more details on the work of the foundation follow:
