On November 11, the Instituto Clavel medical team operated on Ratiba, a 46-year-old woman from Tiemcen, Algeria, with a brain tumor diagnosed in March of this same year.

This surgery was carried out thanks to the collaboration of Caritas, Doctor Clavel Foundation, Instituto Clavel and Hospital Quironsalud of Barcelona, and that is why today Ratiba can tell her story.

It was a hard blow for Ratiba, her husband and her five children to know that she had a brain tumor that could not be operated on in Algeria. Her doctor recommended looking for a center abroad that could perform the surgery as soon as possible. The cost of the operation amounted to a price that Ratiba’s family could not afford. They were devastated.

A relative of an acquaintance of Ratiba became interested in her case and began an exhaustive search of charitable organizations with the hope of finding a subsidy that could help pay for surgery in Spain or France. After several unsuccessful contacts, Caritas offered to mediate, and contacted Doctor Clavel Foundation, which, without hesitating for a moment, closely examined the case of Ratiba to determine her options.

In a generous and solidary gesture, the neurosurgeon Doctor Pablo Clavel, President of Doctor Clavel Foundation and Director of Instituto Clavel, agreed to operate on Ratiba to remove her tumor and restore hope to her family. In addition, the Hospital QuironSalud of Barcelona proposed a drastic reduction in hospitalization costs to further facilitate the process.

Doctor Clavel Foundation together with Caritas worked from that moment to the day of the intervention to ensure the best possible conditions for Ratiba in Barcelona, managing visas in coordination with Caritas for her transfer, seeking a place for her to stay and providing volunteer French translators to allow her to communicate at all times and feel welcome.

There are cases like Ratiba which show how the good integration of foundations and humanitarian associations, together with the solidarity of their professionals, can help to improve the future of people, families and generate hope in those who, due to precarious conditions in their countries of origin, have none.

Ratiba is already back home with her husband and their five children, the youngest of whom is 5 years old. Doubtless the best reward for all those who have intervened in this process.

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