Seeing as the
large foreign communities based along the coast rely on the efforts of
volunteer-run charities, associations, clubs and informative platforms, my work
often involves highlighting fundraising campaigns, and the work of those
charities which struggle, and overcome huge barriers, to keep their ships
afloat.
Probably the
most well-known Costa charity is Cudeca (which derives from Cuidados
del Cáncer), the cancer
hospice founded by Joan Hunt in
1992.
The charity
began in her house and has since become a pioneer in palliative care in Spain.
The volunteers and staff, along with a vast army of supporters, of the
Benalmádena-based hospice have raised millions of euros over the years to help
people die with dignity.
Along with the
hospice, the charity opened a new education centre in 2022, and also boasts the
only children and teenager’s palliative care unit in Andalusia.
All this, and a
lot more than I have outlined, was achieved by the sheer determination and hard
work of Joan, who died in June 2020 at the age of 92.
She was known across the province of
Málaga and beyond as a hardworking, selfless woman who broke down barriers -
from language to bureaucracy - to give the area something it needed: a
palliative care centre to help patients of terminal illnesses in the final days
of their lives.
Her husband Fred died of cancer just a few years after
the couple retired to the Costa del Sol in 1984. It was that experience that
made Joan aware of the need for palliative care in the area and ignited her
unwavering resolve to fill that gap.
SUR in English editor Rachel Haynes summed up her
drive in the obituary she wrote the day after Joan died: ‘Against all odds,
at the age of 65, this Englishwoman who did not speak the language and who had
few resources decided to create the incredible project called Cudeca. One of
the secrets of the success of Cudeca was Joan’s ability to unite the Spanish
and international community on the Costa del Sol. Without the support of the
foreign community, a hospice funded by charity shops and car boot sales would
not have survived.’
Joan received numerous awards over the years. Among
them were the 1st Annual Award from SUR in English (1996), the OBE presented to
her by Prince Charles (2002), the Málaga Woman of the Year Award (2005) and the
Premio del Día de Andalusia from the regional government in 2015.
Rarely have I come across a person who knew not only
what she wanted, but exactly how to get it.
Anne Hernández, who was awarded an MBE for services to
British nationals in Spain in the Queen's birthday honours list in 2021,
is another selfless British expat who has strived to help the British community
overcome the hurdles of bureaucracy.
A retired university lecturer, Anne moved to Spain in
the early 1990s and is now based in Mijas Costa.
She has been at the helm of the organisation, Brexpats
in Spain, since it was founded to keep British residents informed of their
rights and responsibilities prior to the UK's exit from the EU.
Anne received her MBE, not just for making sure residents
had all the right information, but also for championing key
issues, helping UK nationals to access services, lobbying the Spanish
authorities for improvements and supporting the embassy and consulates to
disseminate accurate information.
Being the type of person who likes to get her teeth
into something, in 2018, Anne wrote to British prime minister, Theresa May, to
express the group's disappointment concerning the treatment of the 1.2 million
British passport holders living in the EU.
She accused the prime minister of totally overlooking
the existence of foreign residents living in the EU, claiming that it was ‘one
of the most calamitous mistakes she could have made’.
She also pointed out that many of the Brexpats members
were worried that they had still not been granted the promised, and long
awaited, 'vote for life'. After 29 March 2019, British citizens were no longer
able to vote in the EU elections or the local elections of their EU country of
residence, which, Anne claimed had denied citizens a basic human right.[1]
The letter, which did nothing to change the situation,
was drafted following Theresa May's defiant speech in front of cameras at 10
Downing Street, when she demanded the EU showed respect to the UK. However, she
failed to address the problem of the British citizens living in Europe,
something that agitated Anne.
Today, the straight-talking and extremely
down-to-earth campaigner still runs the Brexpats in Spain platform, which has
now added the word International to its title. Without her continued help and
dedication, many Brits in the area would have had to have relied on information
supplied by ‘Dave the plumber,’ down the local pub.
Thank goodness we have the unfaltering assistance of people
like Anne.
From the new book A Cohort of Creative Bohemians and other interesting individuals
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