This week, the Mijas Mayor, Josele González (PSOE), together with the Social Services Councillor, Hipólito Zapico (PSOE), began the visits to social groups in the municipality to take stock of the aid that the Council allocated to these entities.

The aim of the visits
According to the Mijas Mayor, Josele González, "we would like to highlight the commitment and aid, that has been deployed by the City Council in the last two years, in a complex situation especially, from a health point of view, where these groups have also been harmed from the economic aspect". On the other hand, the purpose of these meetings "is to start planning for the current year, where we want to have the first contact with these entities to find out which projects may be interesting to subsidise and also to see what their economic projections are going to be", added the Mayor.

Thus, on Monday 7th, the Mayor and the head of the Social Services visited the Mijas Intellectual Disabilities Association headquarters at Virgen de la Peña. Adimi serves 250 users and, in the last year, 2021, received 80,000 euros from the Town Hall for its numerous services, including early care, the occupational day centre and the daycare unit.

80,000 euros for Adimi
About Adimi, from the City Council, "we have contributed, during 2021, 80,000 euros to different projects of the group, among them, one that makes us very excited: the multisensory classroom," said Zapico. Likewise from Social Services, they highlighted having "a close relationship with Adimi. Being a leading centre in Andalusia, dedicated to disability and functional diversity, relying on their advice and consensus to develop internal management rules of the City Council itself as the new ordinance of functional diversity that is already approved. It will be applied, in the new subsidies, and that will favour even more people with a greater degree of dependence".
The President of Adimi, Cristóbal Moreno, stressed: "the support received". "The Mijas Town Hall is always very supportive of social entities and, above all, of Adimi, because thanks to the City Council we finished the year by initiating new projects", he said.

15,000 euros destined for the AECC
On the other hand, the Spanish Cancer Association (AECC), which in 2021 received 15,000 euros from the Mijas City Council, went entirely to cover the cost of treatment for people with lymphedema. Thus, last Tuesday 8th, the Mijas Mayor and the Social Services Councillor received the Mijas-Fuengirola President, Paula Casas, at the Councillor's office. Both highlighted the value of this grant and emphasised the importance of establishing new bridges of collaboration. "These groups have seen their income diminished due to these two years of the pandemic, as they have not been able to carry out the different charitable activities with which they used to raise funds for the programmes and workshops they offer," said the Mayor.

 

Casas said that "we have two physiotherapists and many patients with lymphoedema, so we have to continue to maintain this structure, which is possible thanks to the Town Hall". The NGO said that they are currently assisting around 400 families in Mijas, "with 310 aid beneficiaries, of which 70 are part of the lymphoedema programme," said Casas.

Zapico pointed out that "although its scope is not only local, there are many Mijeños who need these services and with this help, we contribute to the improvement that these people can have when they are diagnosed with lymphedema.

Finally, the Mayor asked the rest of the public institutions to get involved and collaborate with this cause, "because it has to be a joint work", he concluded.

The beneficiaries speak

The City Council has also granted family aids for those users of both Adimi and the AECC.  

 

Little Juan José Luque attends the Adimi centre, three times a week, to visit the psychologist, the speech therapist and now also the pedagogue. Specifically, Luque attends the association's infant-juvenile area. Thus, on the part of the Mijas Town Hall, "these subsidies are an important help, as Adimi receives few subsidies from other public administrations and if it does, it receives them late," said the boy's father, Juan José Luque. "These grants indirectly benefit my family and, in particular, my son," said Luque, who added that "it is essential to have the Mijas Town Hall help because thanks to them we can carry out projects that probably could not be carried out.

 

With more than 10 years, as Adimi's board of directors, Antonio Cabello, father of the centre's user, Jorge Cabello, assured that "the association has to pay a series of expenses that are covered by the membership fees, paid by its members. Everything that affects Adimi, affects us in terms of benefits". Thus, according to Antonio, "the Town Hall, with these 80,000 euros of subsidy, makes it possible, throughout the year, to pay a certain deficit that exists in certain aspects of the association". Jorge's father also highlighted the creation of a residence for the severely affected, but "we parents also need a residence for the disabled. We hope that in the future, it can become a reality and parents will have the peace of mind that the day we are gone they will have a place to stay," he concluded.

 

15 years ago, María Antonia Montero had breast cancer. After that, she began to develop lymphoedema, a type of inflammation that occurs when lymph (a fluid containing cells that defend against germs) accumulates in the soft tissues of the body. Then, "I found out that here, we had the Spanish Cancer Association headquarters where they give lymphatic drainage massages for people with lymphoedema", said Montero, "it is a service that is sorely needed, and which is not available everywhere, it is a privilege to have it". According to the user, "it is compulsory for institutions to finance this type of programme, as Social Security does not provide this service, nor is it offered in private places. Therefore, it is necessary for the City Council, the Provincial Council or whoever is responsible, to contribute with money".

 

According to Teresa Tiana, "it is very important that the AECC provides these services.  I receive it every two weeks and it helps me a lot. In the association there are lymphoedema specialists who have also continued training to specialise more and more in this field". The AECC user affirmed that "all the services provided by the association (psychological assistance, social workers, physiotherapists, etc.) are all free of charge, and the workshops (gymnastics, yoga, pilates, etc.), are activities and services to make cancer patients feel better". To conclude, Tiana assured that "if you don't have any help to carry out this situation, it would be impossible, because the money boxes at the petition tables don't raise enough money, we need the institutions to get involved".
 

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