The Clarós Foundation, founded two decades ago by Pedro Clarós, full academician and vice-president of the Royal European Academy of Doctors-Barcelona 1914 (RAED), has already accumulated more than one hundred solidarity projects completed in Africa, Asia and Europe, which has led the academician himself. The latter is currently being developed in Cameroon. “We started with the Foundation in the early 90’s of the last century. It was all because in the courses that I gave in our Clinic, many foreign specialists started to come in. Some Indian doctors invited me after some time in Barcelona to carry out some operations in their country. I went with three other contributors to Delhi and the experience was very positive. In fact, we were repeating it for several years. At the end of that decade a friend proposed to me to go to Romania to participate in a similar experience”, explains Clarós in an interview that will publish Tribuna Plural, the magazine of the RAED, in its next edition.
“The point of inflection, curiously, was put by Montserrat Caballé, a patient and a friend who already in 2000 told me: ‘Doctor, you have to create a Foundation to channel all these projects. Put it on and I will be the godmother’ –Clarós continues with his explanation-. This is where we incorporate other projects and other countries: Senegal, Gabon, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Gambia, Cape Verde, the two Congos, Sudan… and continue with India. And as the time came when we encountered some limitations of time and people we decided to establish the activity of the foundation in six or seven missions a year, which is what we have maintained until now. We have already reached Mission 102 and now we are going to the 103, in Cameroon”.
To the Foundation’s work in these missions are added the scholarships that also put in place for foreign doctors without resources. This is how Clarós has already trained 25 fellows from countries like Romania, Russia, Armenia, India, Congo, Senegal, Cameroon, Chad or Poland. These fellows learn surgical techniques and prepare scientific articles. Your stay in Spain is between six months and a year. “It’s a part of my life that I love, because it has come as it has come and I’m very satisfied”, concludes Clarós.
