For almost two decades, Cairdeas has endeavoured to support quality, accessible palliative care in resource-limited areas around the world. Cairdeas began with friends and colleagues in 2005 and soon grew to hold a mutual vision to work alongside existing and emerging palliative care services:

• supporting education, training and curriculum development
• offering specific clinical expertise, such as mentoring and service design
• and, raising the profile of palliative care needs.

A Scottish Gaelic word, “Cairdeas” means worldwide friendship, and in this year of 2022 we couldn’t agree more. Our friends, colleagues, individual and organisational partners throughout the globe are foundational to our vision where palliative care is accessible by all.

We thank you for your giving of time, talents, and resources over the years. From the recent difficulties of navigating the COVID-19 pandemic to the milestones of beginning the Cairdeas mission, expanding to places like India, Uganda, the Sahara and Gaza, we have been grateful to walk step by step alongside you. 

We also celebrate our achievements together in providing excellent palliative care for all. From our early years of mutual growth of Pallium India and Christian Medical College, Vellore, to the leadership development of a new palliative care unit in Mulago Hospital and Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda (MPCU), we are honoured and proud of the progress we have made together.

This year, as MPCU makes 14 years of service and now operates in both Mulago and Kiruddu Hospitals, we are also partnering with the Islamic University in Gaza to establish a diploma programme for palliative care. (More information to come!)

We are thankful for what we have accomplished together and are eager to see what the next years have in store. We invite you to draw close and interact in this journey of quality palliative care for all, as we suggest the following:

Stay connected to new happenings. You can register to be notified of new blogs or follow our social media pages on Facebook and Twitter. 

Purchase picturesque calendars. For those in the UK only – limited time only – Stewart Kerr has offered beautiful sceneries of Scotland, with all proceeds going to Cairdeas.

Stewart shared:

I am fundraising again this year for Cairdeas International Palliative Care Trust with a new Scottish landscape calendar for 2023. The format is the same as last year. They are A3 in size (297 x 420 mm) on 250gsm coated stock. They are available at £14 each plus £2.50 UK postage if required (plus any additional donation you care to make) with ALL money going to Cairdeas. 

If you would like to order any, please just get in touch either directly or using the email below letting me know how many you would like and an address if you would like them posted … Email: calendars@stewartkerr.com

Shop online and give to Cairdeas. Register on Amazon Smile, Give as You Live, or Easy Fundraising, where a percentage of your online purchases will automatically be donated to us.

Consider volunteering with partners, PallCHASE or PcERC. Simply send a quick email to our global partner PallCHASE (Palliative Care in Humanitarian Aid Situations and Emergencies) or to PcERC (Palliative care Education and Research Consortium) in Kampala, Uganda. 

Donate for long-lasting impact. Giving at Cairdeas goes towards building capacity for village health teams and healthcare workers, or you can contribute towards the Cairdeas Scholarships programme to sponsor a year-long diploma or three-year degree in palliative medicine. You can donate to Cairdeas directly or give to PcERC’s Global Giving page. 

Thank you for extending worldwide friendship and fellowship, Cairdeas, to the areas that need palliative care services the most. With each patient and family provided with holistic care and with every healthcare worker trained, we advance the mission to promote and facilitate the provision of high-quality palliative care to all.