The event was sponsored by Lloyds Bank International, Megacall, Experience Box, Macias Legal and DeVere where members enjoyed a variety of canapés, cocktails and champagne served by waiters in the majestic setting of the Imperial boardroom.

Members were encouraged to bring a child’s present to the event specifying whether it was for a girl or boy and these were all delivered to ADIMI in time for Christmas.

Thanks also go out to Ron Howells who kindly donated a food hamper which has also been delivered to ADIMI.

The work of the charity is close to Club La Costa’s heart and through its charitable arm, The Smile Foundation, the company has been a major sponsor of its aim to create the pioneering Cruz Dias/ADIMI Hospital in Mijas. And now it looks like the long cherished dream is near to becoming a reality – the project is in the final stages of gaining permissions, and work is set to move into top gear, with the hope of completing the much needed hospital by the end of 2012.

The President of ADIMI, Julio Diaz, received a cheque from Antonia Hagelen McIntosh, Secretary of The Smile Foundation, at CLC resorts site outside Fuengirola. He said: ”Our work makes a real difference for many families, but like many others we have been affected by the current economic difficulties and feared we would have to make some difficult choices. This donation helps us to continue to support families and help in the personal development of so many young people.”

ADIMI (Asociación de Discapacitados Mijeños) was set up in 1999 by the parents of numerous children with varying levels of disability. Since then it has developed a busy programme of activities and built a team of professionals, all tasked with helping young people with disabilities reach their full potential. The activities include speech therapy, reading skills, swimming, theatre, ceramics and painting and the charity’s work fills the void in local services.

The new state-of-the-art Cruz Dias/ADIMI Hospital, costing €3 million, will provide professional and medical staff, and offer a significant expansion in the number of activities and services available, including day centre provision for the seriously disabled, a selection of therapy rooms, gymnasium and pool. It will also offer in-hospital care, giving much needed respite to parents who devote their lives to their children, as well as ensuring the well-being and future of young people when their parents are no longer around.

36 players took part in a 4-ball Texas Scamble competition, with prizes for Ist & 2nd teams, together with Longest Drive (9th hole) and Nearest the Pin (18th hole) .

Paul Ellis of Currencies Direct opened proceedings by explaining the rules of the competition and order of play, before emphasising that the event was organised for the purpose of raising funds for L.I.V.E.

Play started in sunny, but breezy conditions, notwithstanding this however, net birdies were soon to be the order of the day. The eventual winning team came home with an impressive net 61. To give some indication of the quality of play, 2nd place scored a net 62 & third place net 63. All in all, of the 9 four-ball teams, seven came in below net par. Special mention should go to a local club member, John Smith-Jones, who managed to win nearest the pin on the tricky (and over the water) par 3 18th, by being the only player to finish on the green!

The day was concluded with presentations of the prizes and a charity raffle which was very generously supported by all those present with all proceeds going to L.I.V.E.

With the reform of this additional treatment room ADIMI is now going to be able to provide the following services:

Psychological Services:

This service will be available to those with psychological or developmental disorders of all ages.
Psychologists offer both beneficiaries and relatives of those with disabilities the guidance, support and therapeutic intervention they need. Care will be offered individually or in group therapy sessions as the needs are identified.
The overall objective of these sessions is to provide support and training to adopt positive attitudes and skills, reducing or eliminating less adaptive responses to enable them to improve their quality of life, fostering personal development, reducing stress and increasing the quality of their social networks and their integration into the community.

Early Childhood Stimulation Service:

With this service ADIMI offer early childhood development and treatment of disorders in children from 0 to 6 years. A multidisciplinary team comprising a psychologist, a speech therapist and a physiotherapist can now conduct comprehensive early intervention sessions to prevent or minimize the problems, and support the families to help them become involved in the process.

ADIMI commented that “we would not have been able to offer this service without the existence of a third office. Thanks to the donation of LIVE we can say that we are launching one of the most ambitious goals outlined in our 2010 strategic plan.”

This event is designed to raise money for local charities here in Spain and the idea is that you take part in the 1 day Boot Camp course and raise sponsorship for your own chosen charity…and of course we hope that the charity you choose will be L.I.V.E.

To qualify your chosen charity must be registered in Spain and have a registered charity number.

The day will be hosted live on air with SILK FM on 89.2 fm and 90.3 fm all over the Costa Del Sol and some of the SILK FM presenters will also be taking part in the Boot Camp activities throughout the day. We will also have local press in attendance to cover news stories from the day. For more information on The 1 Boot Camp please visit www.the1bootcamp.com

This day is open to men and women over the age of 18 and will work to the following schedule:

9.00 am – Participant arrival & fitness assessment

9.30am PT session 1

11.00am DOWN TIME

11.30am PT session 2

1.00pm DOWN TIME

1.30pm LUNCH & LIFESTYLE CLASS

2.30 pm PT Session 3

4.00pm DOWN TIME

4.30pm PT Session 4

6.00pm BOOT CAMP FINISH.

6.30pm BAR Opens and BBQ lit!!

There will be a small charge of 5€ per person to take part to cover the cost of lunch and refreshments though out the day, although we are looking for a local business to sponsor this so we can offer the day as completely FREE OF CHARGE and thus benefit the charities with 100% of the money´s raised. All the other services of The 1 Boot Camp will be donated free of charge.

A minimum sponsorship requirement of 100€ per person has been set in order to take part so as to ensure that all the charities benefit.

If you would be interested in taking part in this great event, please contact Lisa Nicol on 610 091 841 or email lnicol@the1bootcamp.com with details of your chosen charity and they will send you an official sponsorship form to begin your fundraising.

Kai is 15 years old when he was born he suffered a lack of oxygen which left him with brain damage and also cataracts in both eyes. After several operations he was diagnosed as being blind. At 6 months he was also diagnosed with West Syndrome which at the age of 4/5 turned into Lennox Gastaut Syndrome this is a rare and severe form of epilepsy which is rarely controlled with medication. Kai suffers with many seizures daily. Kai doesn’t have good postural control and has a scoliosis of the spine which has worsened due to bad positioning in the wheelchairs provided. For this reason we are looking for funding to help pay for a new wheelchair that has been specially made for Kai and although it wont correct the damage already done to the spine it will hopefully stop it from getting any worse.

Physiotherapy is used to help cerebral palsy patients improve movement and motor skills. Since cerebral palsy is a physical and movement disorder that impairs the brain’s ability to properly control muscle movement, physiotherapy can do wonders in helping cerebral palsy patients gain mobility. Cerebral palsy physiotherapy techniques are determined by the degree of physical limitations of the individual and what will be most beneficial to the cerebral palsy patient.

Physiotherapy generally consists of a few types of therapy and helps a cerebral palsy patient to improve their gross motor skills. Motor skills that utilize the large muscles in the body, such as those in the arms and legs, are known as gross motor skills. This kind of physiotherapy can help improve a cerebral palsy patient’s balance and movement.

Physiotherapy can be great for increasing the success of learning to walk, standing without aid, using a wheelchair or other adaptive equipment and other movement skills. The physical therapists involved in physiotherapy reduce further development of musculoskeletal problems by preventing muscle weakening, deterioration and contracture through the correct physiotherapy techniques.

Occupational therapy is another element of physiotherapy used for cerebral palsy patients and it is used for aiding in the development of fine motor skills. Fine motor skills focus on the use of smaller muscles, such as those in the face, fingers, toes, hands and feet. Fine motor skills are used during daily living skills like eating, dressing, writing, etc., and are fine tuned by occupational physiotherapy.

It is vital that children with cerebral palsy have regular physiotherapy from an early age and that regular physiotherapy sessions are continued as they grow.

Following advice from his pediatrician, Tomas has been having such physiotherapy sessions since he was six months old. When Tomas was younger, he had scoliosis (curvature of the spine), his hand were clenched, his neck and head were floppy with little control, his leg and arm muscles were weak and his leg tendons were tight causing bad foot positioning. Due to all these problems he had severe difficulty sitting up, using his arms and hands and he could not balance, stand or walk.

Over the past five years Tomas has made slow but steady progress in all of the above areas and this has made a huge difference to his quality of life and his general medical health. As you will see from the videos above, the progress we have seen in his both his physical abilities and his confidence has been nothing short of a miracle. In his first few years he was given little hope of recovery, but with the continued focus on regular therapy sessions and a lot of patience and determination, he has made some emotional and amazing breakthroughs.

His physiotherapy is an integral part of his overall weekly treatment. It provides his parents with confidence that, whatever the future may hold, they are doing all they can to ensure that Tomas is able to acheive his full potential.

Kai is 15 years old and suffers from Lennox Gastaut syndrome.  He has scoliosis of the spine and cannot sit up straight or hold his head up on his own, however since he has started horseriding we have noticed a great improvement. It has been a slow journey but as you can see from the picture Kai is sitting up straight and holding his head up with very little support from his teacher. At the moment he only does this whilst sitting on the horse but we are hoping that with continued therapy he will start improving his posture whilst in his wheelchair and this will also help to slow down the scoliosis of his spine.