Helping homeless people on the island of Mallorca
Discover the stories behind UM alumni businesses, special projects, creative hobbies, and so on. Time to get inspired! Today we lift the curtain on Es Refugi, an organisation in Palma helping homeless people and run by Toni Cañellas, alumnus of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. What is his story?
Toni: ‘‘After I graduated from the master’s programme in European Public Affairs, I lived and worked in Brussels for four years, mainly mediating the interests of the European Union and those of Mallorca businesses. I was born and raised on Mallorca and after a while, I realised how much I missed the island. Eventually I decided to go back and take a break there. The aim of this break was to refocus my life – for instance, I became a coach and set up my own business focused on sports. Now I realise that this was actually only the beginning.’’
Into the light
‘‘In 2017, I got the chance to start running Es Refugi as a director and coordinator of service. This job really changed my perspective on life. Es Refugi is a Non-Governmental Organisation in Palma, helping homeless people for 25 years now. We offer them a bed, three meals a day, warm showers and personal hygiene care. Next to that, we assist them in their process of reintegration into society – we support them to find a place to live, get a job, and so on. In other words, we help people to get out of darkness and move towards the light, towards a new life. We try to give hope to those who lost it.’’
Try to stay positive
‘‘When people come to Es Refugi, we are often their ‘last chance’. This makes the work of my team members and me demanding and responsible, but very rewarding at the same time. The current corona pandemic makes our jobs even more challenging, because the strict illness measures make it harder to support our guests as good as possible. Moreover, our available financial resources got even more limited, because most of our resources come from donation events, which are all cancelled here at the moment. However, we try to stay positive. We are so lucky that no guests or team members got the virus.’’
Going back to Maastricht
‘‘In 10 years, I hope to help many other people, for instance children and families at risk of social exclusion. Children are the future, we have to protect them and support them to make their dreams come true. In addition, I can see myself visiting Maastricht someday. The city and Maastricht University are still in my heart. I look back at my study time with many warm feelings! I loved the fact that my classmates were coming from all around the world. Still I have good connections with most of them. Despite the current corona pandemic, I wish all UM graduates a good year, filled with plenty of love and health. And whatever happens, just remember that there is always a way to go ahead in life.’’
Text: Milou Schreuders
Toni Cañellas studied the master’s programme European Public Affairs at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences of Maastricht University. He graduated in 2006. He has been running Es Refugi since 2017.
Toni is also president of Chiari Balears, which is a foundation supporting patients with Chiari or Syringomyelia syndrome and their families. Next to that, he organises field hockey competitions spread over the Balearic Islands (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera).