Cudeca is paying tribute to its founder, who sadly passed away last June, with the campaign “Joan Hunt, One in a Million'' aiming at raising one million euros to create and run a paediatric hospice palliative care unit for the next four years. This initiative was presented at the Mijas Town Hall on Wednesday morning. According to Cudeca manager, Marisa Martín, it is the public institution “that contributes the most” to the foundation.

Joan’s House

Joan’s home, room nº10, will become the first-ever hospice palliative care unit for children and teenagers in Spain. In addition to providing an in-patient facility, the money raised will support the organisation and training of a team of professionals to provide home care, day-care and in-patient care for children and teenagers suffering from the life-limiting condition, which is currently only available in adult facilities. Martín explains that the idea is to turn this house into a home, to include specialised care and compassionate accompaniment of children as well as their families including, not only parents but also siblings, grandparents, even their pet, cat or dog, basically the whole family, providing extra space for them to enjoy their time together.

This project was the dream of Cudeca’s founder Joan Hunt, a dream that can now come true through this campaign to raise one million euros. Rafael Olalla, Cudeca assistant manager and financial director, explained that they are trying to raise one million euros during this campaign, which ends on January 31st. This amount will cover the expenses of opening and running this unit for the next 4 years.

How to collaborate

Online donations can be made on the website www.unaentreunmillon.es. An event can also be created to raise funds among family, friends or colleagues. Donations can also be sent through Bizum or bank transfer at La Caixa. Donations over €250 will be eligible to be permanently featured on a mural in the new care space.

Support to the project 

The Mijas Local Council is supporting and collaborating with this campaign. The presentation of the initiative was held at the Town Hall and the Mayor of Mijas, Josele González (PSOE), stated that “for us, with a grant of 40.000 euros for Cudeca, is an honour to be one of its main sponsors, but I wish we were not the ones giving the highest grant, that would mean that other institutions are supporting Cudeca with even more money, and that would be great news. Let’s hope our help will encourage other public institutions to support the project. We are going to continue supporting Cudeca. Our yearly grant goes on to show our commitment to the project”.

Private companies and foundations are also joining in this campaign. Such is the case of Caixa Bank Mijas. Its director, Nicolás Echevarría, reported that they have opened an account for donations, highlighting that “the entity will double the total amount of donations made by our clients”.

Club La Costa World Foundation is also joining in this project. Juan Miguel Marcos, President of the CLC Foundation, who was also at the presentation, confirmed that they will continue helping and supporting Cudeca “both personally and professionally”.

And, of course, Cudeca is also supported by 900 volunteers, some of them working at the Cudeca Charity Shop in La Cala, where 25.000€ have been raised so far.

‘Don’t let her legacy be lost’

The slogan of the campaign “don’t let her legacy be lost” was chosen in recognition of Joan Hunt and her legacy. Cudeca invites everyone to collaborate with this initiative. And this is what members of the Mijas Local Council have done, publicly supporting the campaign.

Maria del Carmen Gonzalez (Cs), Councillor for Health Services, spoke about the need to support Cudeca, help which can come in many different ways, this time is for an excellent cause – to create and run this new paediatric unit for the next four years.

Hipólito Zapico (PSOE), councillor for Social Services, invited other institutions in the province of Málaga to support Cudeca’s excellent work, as they are providing an essential service which right now is not covered by public institutions, such as the Junta de Andalucía.

Carmen Márquez, Councillor of the PP in Mijas, mentioned that “it was my colleague, Angel Nozal, in 2015, who approved this annual grant, but I thank the local Council for continuing this support and the use of municipal premises in La Cala for their charity shop; thank you, thank you, thank you”.

Márquez also asked the Mayor to name one of the roundabouts in Mijas after Joan Hunt. This request was approved unanimously at the last plenary session, but the Mijas Local Council wants to go even further. The Mayor said that “we are all clear about the importance of Joan Hunt’s legacy and that she deserves more than a roundabout; the government team prefers to wait for a public space worthy of bearing the name of this lady, who has done so much for the people in the province”.

The independent Councillor, Esperanza Jiménez, highlighted that “this is a wonderful project that has to come true so that families using this unit can give their son or daughter a dignified death”.

Cudeca was legally established as a charity in 1992 and offers professional medical attention for patients with cancer or any disease in an advanced stage, as well as support for their families. Each year, they care for over 1.600 people in the whole of the province of Málaga.

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