Álvaro Jiménez has been participant in the social project ‘Un mar de posibilidades’ (A sea of posibilities) on Ibiza for almost 17 years. He is 27 and was born with Prader-Willi syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes decreased muscle strength, low levels of sex hormones and a constant feeling of hunger. “For him this program is a marvel,” says his father, Gonzalo Jiménez, who has been a volunteer for nine years.
Álvaro is passionate about the sea, so doing activities throughout the summer with his companions from the Adapted Sports Association of Ibiza and Formentera (Addif), who also participate in this program, is a gift. “You don’t even need to ask him if he’s enjoying himself because I can see it on his face when I go to pick him up,” adds the father. Like Álvaro, there are hundreds of participants every year; in fact, they expect to exceed 400 this year.
Project by the Club Náutico de Ibiza
The project, developed on the beach of Talamanca by the Club Náutico de Ibiza with the support of the Govern, Consell, the five municipalities and the collaboration of private companies, has been offering adventure, recreational, artistic, sports and therapeutic activities in the sea for people with special needs since 2004. Last week they warned of its possible suspension this season due to “problems” in the processing of occupancy permits with the Coastal Authority. However, in an event held this afternoon at the Auditorium of Cas Serres, the promoter of the program, Pedro Cárceles, confirmed that it will continue. “It will never disappear because it is a program that defends social values and is supported by all institutions,” he said.
At the moment, “we are working on correcting the errors in the processing of the license”, acknowledged Cárceles. Since the last request for occupancy made by the Yacht Club in 2018 (with validity for four years), the requirements have changed a lot. “Before we applied for it very easily, but now we have to submit an environmental impact report, another of the running of the activity… and it has become complicated,” he said, despite the fact that they began to process it last year.
“They say that taking a step back means gaining momentum to move forward and we are going to take advantage of this little problem,” said Cárceles. Their objective now is to obtain a permanent concession that will allow them to carry out uninterrupted activities throughout the year.
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