On 2 December, Cudeca paid a well-deserved tribute at its Palliative Care Centre to the recently deceased pioneer of palliative care in Spain and founder of Cudeca, Joan Hunt.

Cudeca then presented its new crowdfunding campaign "Joan Hunt, one in a Million" which aims to raise €1,000,000 to create and manage a Paediatric Palliative Care Unit for 4 years.

This Unit would include the specialised comprehensive care and compassionate accompaniment of children and adolescents, as well as their families, including not only parents, but also siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles... the whole family. A team of expert professionals: doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers, physiotherapists, music therapists, art and play therapists, teachers, and volunteers, would attend both in the homes and at the Cudeca Centre, in room number 10 or at the Day Centre.

Joan's house, paediatric room number 10. A central part of this project is to remodel the house where Joan lived her last years, built and paid for by herself. Located next to the Cudeca Hospitalisation Unit in Benalmádena, it will be converted into a space completely adapted to deal with such special situations, familiar and homely, with its own kitchen and a small garden overlooking the sea.

The event was attended by Víctor Navas, Mayor of Benalmádena; Antonio Caballero, Director of the Málaga-Melilla Business Area of "la Caixa"; Mari Francis Peñarroya, Director and partner of Grupo Peñarroya; Dr. Yusuf Hamied, President of Cipla; and on behalf of the Cudeca Foundation, Dr. Marisa Martín, Manager and Director of Cudeca, Dr. Yusuf Hamied, President of Cipla; and on behalf of the Cudeca Foundation, Dr. Marisa Martín, Manager and Director of "la Caixa", Dr. Yusuf Hamied. Marisa Martín, Manager and Medical Director; and Rafael Olalla, Deputy Manager and Financial Director; as well as representatives from Vithas Xanit International; Benalmádena Traders and Businessmen Association; Arroyo de la Miel Municipal Library; and of course the Foundation volunteers.

Antonio Caballero, representing "la Caixa", main collaborator of the campaign, highlighted the commitment of the entity to "double all donations received from clients of the entity".

Mari Francis Peñarroya, representing Grupo Peñarroya, commented that "their commitment will be to help the Cudeca Foundation to spread the word as much as possible and to mobilise the business community of Benalmádena and the Costa del Sol so that this project is a success and they can create this important Paediatric Unit".

Víctor Navas, Mayor of Benalmádena, as well as honouring the figure of Joan and thanking him for the important healthcare work carried out by the Foundation, commented that "we reaffirm the commitment of the Town Hall to this campaign, not only financially but also by giving it maximum visibility".

At the end of the event, the Mayor of Benalmádena announced that the Town Hall has decided to name Dr. Yusuf Hamied as Benalmádena Citizen of the Year for his contribution to the creation of the Training and Research Centre, donating the entire cost of the construction of the centre, which will give international visibility to Benalmádena. The official naming ceremony will take place on Andalucía Day, 28th February 2022, in the Plaza de Andalucía in Benalmádena Pueblo.

As a big surprise of the day, Dr. Yusuf Hamied announced that he wanted to boost this important campaign with an extraordinary donation of €100,000.

Mari Francis Peñarroya

Yusuf Hamied y Víctor Navas

Vithas Xanit Internacional