The youth volunteering programme of the Mijas Association of Relatives of Alzheimer's Patients and other Dementias (AFA Mijas) has become a consolidated and alternative way for a group of young people to spend their holidays. This year, the youngsters from the village have been joined by a dozen boys and girls from Las Lagunas. They are all united by the desire, on the one hand, to help and, on the other, to learn. 

After 11:00 a.m., the bus that connects Las Lagunas and Fuengirola with Mijas Pueblo arrives and a group of youngsters, today seven, although sometimes there are up to twelve. This summer they are dedicating a few hours of their free time to lend a hand to AFA Mijas. They are full of energy and looking forward to meeting the rest of the volunteers who have been part of the programme for years. On Friday morning they were welcomed by the director of the centre, María del Carmen López, the councillor for Social Inclusion, Hipólito Zapico (PSOE), and the boys and girls of the Mijas Pueblo group. 

How did they come up with this initiative? Very easy, volunteers like Manuel Niebla or Alejandro Cuevas found out about it through the Youth Antennae programme of the Youth area in their high school (Vega de Mijas). "I came through the school, I liked it a lot because my grandmother was in this centre. I would recommend this experience to anyone", said Alejandro, while helping Josefa, one of the users to identify a series of images. Manuel, for his part, acknowledged that "I liked it, I was very interested and I decided to participate and in the end I am very pleased". 

The programme, which started almost 10 years ago, has been taking shape and growing in number of volunteers, currently reaching 25. Many of them started when they were very young and today they continue to collaborate, and they all receive specific training before starting their work as volunteers. "They are young people between 8 and 17 years old, many of them have their grandparents here at the centre and this year the novelty is that we not only have young people from Mijas Pueblo, but also from Las Lagunas", explained María del Carmen López, psychologist and director of the centre.

While the councillor for Social Inclusion, who also visited the centre this Friday, assured that "it is a very good experience for the users of the Mijas Alzheimer Centre, because as you can see, they are waiting for them and they are very happy when they arrive, they are helping them a lot with their daily routine and that is a fantastic experience". 

The number of volunteers has increased considerably in recent months thanks to the awareness campaigns launched by AFA Mijas, the Town Hall and Mijas Comunicación and, on the other hand, by the collaboration of the Youth programme, 'Antenas Juveniles'. "They ('Antenas Juveniles') inform other young people about these options and they can learn from each other and participate in these activities, which we hope will continue to grow", explained Zapico. 

Benefits of intergenerational exchange 

And what is the role of this group of volunteers? "First we do a games session with the elderly and play orientation games with them, puzzles, colour games... then it's gymnastics, we do basic movements, such as stretching our arms or moving our legs, and then we move on to the third phase, which is what we are doing, making cards with basic exercises so that they continue to remember the necessary things to know", explained Manuel Niebla. To which Alejandro Cuevas added "you learn something that we all need so that when their parents are older, they learn how to look after them and how to do it". 

The group from Las Lagunas joins the group of volunteers from Mijas Pueblo, who have been part of this programme for some years now, such as Candela López. They are all united by the same desire to help and the personal reward they take with them when they leave the centre. "I really like helping and that they are remembering more and more of the things they used to do and recovering their memory, even if only for a little while. The elderly, well, they are very happy that we are here helping them and that we are around so much", acknowledged Candela.  

"The elderly, above all, are much more motivated because these young people spend time with them instead of being on the beach on their holidays, it motivates them even more when it comes to work when they get the cognitive stimulation treatment they receive here", said the centre's psychologist, "and it also increases their self-esteem, because they see themselves as useful helping their elders and they receive training", added López. "The grandparents who are in the association enjoy the fresh air that the children bring, and the children feel important because they can help by collaborating, and this is the most important thing about the programme", said Zapico. 

Although the work is completely altruistic, from AFA Mijas and the Town Hall they wanted to thank the time and, above all, the love they dedicate to the users of the centre and, through the Youth area, the group of volunteers is invited to enjoy a day of fun this Sunday at the Aqua Mijas water park.

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