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Paphos Local News Janaury 2016


Winners of Paphos Hearts of Gold Award 2015 announced
By Bejay Browne

A devoted charity worker who has been instrumental in raising thousands for the Paphos Renal Unit, and a young, courageous blind boy are the winners of the ninth annual Paphos Hearts of Gold awards.

In addition, two new awards – the lifetime achievement award and the Jasmitha Singh award for courage – were also given to a committed charity head (postumously) and a brave inspiring boy.

The winners of this year’s awards were announced by Patron Marios Joannou Elia at a packed ceremony at Palia Ilektriki cultural centre on December 11th.

Thirty one adults and 16 children were put forward for this year’s awards. Graham Brown and four year old Iordanis Demetrof (Dani) were chosen by a panel of ten judges and announced by Joannou Elia, who is the patron of the awards for the second year.

The two winners were each presented with a solid gold hand-crafted heart on a pin, which is created and donated every year by Aphrodite Jewellers, as well as a certificate and a bouquet of flowers.

A tearful Graham Brown, winner of the adult award, said: “I can’t believe that I’ve won, there are so many wonderful people here today and I didn’t even imagine I would be chosen.”

Graham is the chairman of the Cyprus Kidney Association, and has worked tirelessly over many years to support the Paphos General Hospital Renal Unit by providing much needed equipment.

He suffers from a hereditary kidney disease, and has kidney dialysis three days a week for five hours a day.
Graham also received a two-night stay and dinner at the luxury Almyra Hotel.

Four year old Iordanis Demetrof (Dani) is the winner of the junior section and the youngest to ever hold the title.
Dani was born blind and has had to undergo a number of risky and painful treatments abroad. Despite the pain he goes through, he is a happy child who has shown great improvement and will undergo further treatments in the coming months to try to regain his sight.

Tom Handley was the posthumous winner of the lifetime achievement award. Tom passed away earlier this year and his wife Jan, was presented with his award.

Tom dedicated his life in Cyprus to the Paphos cancer patients support group and was the chairman until ill health meant he had to step down earlier this year.

Karim Svintovsky is eight years old and was presented with the Jasmitha Singh award for courage. Jasmitha is a previous winner and died earlier this year, aged just 15 years. The award was presented by her mother, Satiya.

Karim is a brave boy who loves school and had a severe squint in one eye which needed correction and was helped by the Dashin Foundation. He can now read more easily and join other in sports activities. He has also been a great moral support to his mother through tough times and is described as inspiring, bright and clever.

Joannou Elia spoke about the importance of being motivated by goodness, the importance of community and social behaviour and praised all of the nominees. He stressed that all of the nominees are winners.

Nominees, their families and friends, members of the judging panel, and representatives of the social welfare committee were all present at the ceremony which took place to a packed audience of around 200.

The Zingers, an amateur singing group who were also nominated for raising thousands of euros for local charities, greeted guests with festive songs. Chris Hopkins was this year’s photographer and James Walton the videographer.
All of the nominees received a certificate and a flower presented by British Vice Consul Christina Smith and Maria Zavrou of the Paphos social welfare committee.

The Heart of Gold Awards recognises children and adults that live in the district of Paphos who have shown tremendous courage, strength and determination, worked tirelessly in the community or for charities, overcome tragedies with a smile or simply been a great help and support to neighbours and friends.

Pictures and a video of the event will be available at the dedicated Facebook page www.facebook.com/paphosheartsofgold

The annual award is supported by Paphos Municipality, Aphrodite Jewellers, Massiva printing, the Cyprus Mail, Paphos Post, Sunshine radio, the British High Commission, Almyra Hotel.


Christmas night market a huge success
By Bejay Browne

A Christmas night market held in Paphos was a huge success and saw hundreds of people turn out in support of the event.

Held on December 10th between 5pm-9pm, the night market was the third to be organised in the town by Revival Fashions and the Paphos Post newspaper.

More than 60 stalls selling all sorts of Cyprus crafts and goods took part and dancers and singers provided the evening’s entertainment.

Performers included the American Academy School choir, Young Stars Theatre and Performing Arts School and a Revival Fashion show, which took place on a large catwalk.

“The event was lovely,” said one of the organisers Judith Evans Davies, “and everyone really enjoyed themselves. The stalls were busy which is great and we will probably put on another night market in the spring.”

The event also raises funds and awareness of the Matthew 25 feed the hungry in Paphos project which, which is run by the Paphos Christian Fellowship International- PCFI.

The project has around 50 families registered with the programme and provides staple foods, dried goods and necessities such as bread, pasta, rice, cereals and tinned foods, as well as nappies and toiletries every week. ‘Matthew 25’ also had a stall at the event, helping to raise funds for the worthy cause.

“We would also really like to thank everyone who donated food supplies on the night and are still continuing to do so,” said Evans Davies, “We are truly grateful for the support.”

 

Candlelit Christmas carols in Paphos
By Bejay Browne

A successful candlelit carol singing event was held in Kato Paphos in December and was led by soprano, Judith Evans Davies.

“We started the carol singing at the harbour about six years ago and it’s now become an annual event. It’s something lovely for Paphos and everyone gets so much enjoyment out of it,” she said.

She added that it’s a chance for local churches and the public to come together and celebrate the birth of Jesus.
“Hundreds of people gathered with song sheets and candles to join in the experience and the true meaning of Christmas, and it was a wonderful and uplifting experience.”

The acclaimed singer also performed a solo piece, O Holy night.

A pianist and guitarist accompanied the carols and song sheets and candles were provided.

The participants sang along to traditional favourites such as, Silent Night, O come all ye faithful, and Hark! the Herald angels.

Evans Davies said that the event was started by the local PCFI church, (Paphos Christian Fellowship International), along with the NTC (New Testament Community Church), and Calvary Chapel Paphos, a number of years ago, with the idea of ‘getting into the spirit of Christmas.’


Insensitive drivers parking in disabled bays causing problems
By Bejay Browne

A group of disabled basketball players taking part in a recent match in Paphos, told local politicians that insensitive drivers parking in allocated disabled spaces and on pavements, are causing disabled drivers huge problems across the island.

“Tournament of Love”, which is part of a wider “We care” campaign, saw able bodied players compete in wheelchairs, alongside wheelchair users, in teams of three.

Each team was made up of local politicians and volunteers as well as one member of the basketball team of OPAK, the Cyprus Paraplegic Association. All played in wheelchairs and the match was to promote inclusivity in the community.

“This is the first time that we’ve organised such an event, and its part of a wider campaign we are undertaking to support disabled people in the community,” said one of the organisers of the event, Konstantinos Letymbiotis, from NEDISY, the youth section of DISY. “The message is that no social group should be treated differently.”

For people with disabilities this means proper infrastructure that allows easy movement and access to public places and transport he said.

The mayor of Yeroskipou, Michalis Pavlides, mayor of Paphos, Phedonas Phedonos and councillors, Doros Paphities, Nicos Similides, Chrysanthos Savvides, Polis Polydorou and Kostas Rialas, amongst others, all took part.
Pavlides said he thoroughly enjoyed participating but that it had had made him even more aware of the difficulties which face wheelchair users on a day-to-day basis.

“We have to make more efforts, such as making more places on pavements suitable for wheel chair access. We also need to correct entrances to our parks and to create more disabled parking spaces at Yeroskipou square.”

Letymbiotis said they have also been collecting unwanted plastic bottle tops and tin cans to be sold for recycling. The money raised will buy a wheelchair for the Kivotos foundation in Paphos, which looks after children with special needs.

A basic wheelchair costs around 700 euros, he said, adding that OPAK use special ones to play basketball, which come with a 3,500 euro price tag.

NEDISY have two recycling bins in Paphos where people can drop bottle tops and tin cans, one outside the municipal library in Paphos town (opposite the town hall), and the other at Yeroskipou Square.
 


Paphos actively seeks golf tourism
By Bejay Browne

Paphos is actively seeking to attract and expand golf tourism to the district, a move which will also help to prevent the phenomena of seasonality, according to officials.

Head of the Paphos regional board of tourism, Nasos Hadjigeorgiou , said that sports tourism,( under which umbrella golf falls,) is one of the ways in which interested parties are tackling the problem of seasonality, which is adversely affecting tourism.

“There is a common effort and a more aggressive attempt to promote the special experiences of Paphos, such as golf,” he said.

With that in mind, 50 specialist agents and companies from eight different countries, mostly across central Europe, which offer golfing holidays visited Paphos, to check out what the area has to offer. Europe has around 8 million golfers.

Hadjigeorgiou said that through a collaborative effort by tourism professionals, the four golf courses and hoteliers of the district, along with the support of the Cyprus Tourism Organisation- CTO and the regional board of tourism, the agents will see and experience Paphos golf first hand

The organisations involved in this move believe that extending hospitality to tourist operators and stakeholders from abroad, as well as the promotion of tourist packages, will contribute to the goal of establishing Paphos firmly as a golf destination. Numbers of golfing arrivals have seen an increase over recent years.

The tourism head said that the local tourism board considers further development of golf tourism and sports tourism in general as a high priority, and he added that this can be achieved by upgrading flights from countries which are sources of sports tourism, such as the Nordic countries and Ireland.

Stakeholders believe that the golf courses are a solution to seasonality issues concerning tourism in Cyprus, as many European golf courses are closed from October to March, due to poor weather.

Paphos mayor refuses to pay outstanding waste management fees
By Bejay Browne

The Paphos mayor’s refusal to pay outstanding waste management fees could mean municipal trucks are refused entry to the main rubbish site, the chairman of the board of Paphos refuse disposal sites (HYTA) said.

The spat concerns the operation of the MSW (municipal solid waste) site at Marathounda in Paphos which currently serves the entire district.

Board chairman Andreas Chrysanthou said that mayor Phedonas Phedonos’ move was populist and that, although he had previously stood side by side with the mayor to eradicate corruption from the town following the arrest and conviction of a number of local officials including the former mayor, Savvas Vergas, he was now going too far.

“In the past, we fought corruption side by side, and I stand for and believe in transparency. But if we now have to fight, so be it. If the municipality doesn’t pay us, we can’t pay the company operating the waste site, and the company has the right to shut it down,” he warned.

Chrysanthou said the mayor has refused to pay outstanding charges to the landfill organisation based on assumptions and allegations, which have no legal justification.

“This is a very complicated matter, some of it to do with years ago when Vergas was the chairman of the board of directors. There are claims that at that time money was ‘stolen’ by overcharging, but this has not been proved in court.”

The board has a contract to honour with the site operators who are currently handling the garbage management, the chairman said.

He said that the board has unanimously agreed that unless the amount owed is paid, the board will instruct the waste company not to accept any garbage from Paphos municipality.

However, the minister of agriculture has said he will meet all concerned and try to find a solution.

Phedonos is refusing to pay because of previous allegations of corruption and because he argues that the board is paying too much for the service and should never have extended the contract with the company once it expired on July 14.

“It was supposed to be extended for another six months so that the conditions of the new tender could be prepared,” Phedonas. “Yet it is December and this has still not yet been prepared. There is something wrong with this situation.”

He added that the extension to the contract was also carried out in an illegal manner.

Chrysanthou said they had no choice but to extend the current contract, as fixing and approving new terms is a lengthy process, involving the government.

The head of HYTA said that they have already issued four written warnings to the mayor, and the last demand they gave him was an eight page letter which explained the situation clearly.

Chrysanthou said that the board is pushing for an open call for the tender process as soon as possible, which he said will be carried out transparently.

“We are hoping to reduce the charges from the operator of the site still further.”

He said these are currently stacked at around two million euros a year.

 

 

 

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