Ciudad de los ninos Malaga Orphanage

My name is Johanna Grey and I live in Mijas in Spain. I am starting this fund raiser to raise money to buy the children in Malaga Orphanage ( Ciudad de los ninos ) Christmas presents. This journey started in 2021 when I was searching online for local charities that we could help. I knew that after Covid there would be many families struggling. We had just done Christmas boxes for Africa, and we wanted to try to do something for local children. I came across Ciudad de los ninos and I was really shocked as I honestly thought these places didn’t exist anymore. In the UK children are placed with foster parents, and institutions like this don’t exist anymore. Unfortunately, in Spain it’s not the same. In Andalucia alone there are 2300 children who need families. My friend Eva and I contacted the Orphanage and asked if we could take advent calendars for the children. We were invited up to have a look around and from that day on our lives changed. We came away upset and overwhelmed by what we had seen. The staff at the centre do a fabulous job, they are loving and caring to the children but that can never replace the love of being within a family. The children we saw when we looked around were polite and very friendly. They had never been given advent calendars before and we had to explain how they worked. Eva and I decided that we would try and raise money to make sure that these children all got a present that Christmas. Lola who runs the centre said its very important that they all get the same, so rather than ask people to buy presents it was easier to raise money and be in control of the buying so that we could ensure that every child had the same. Our first fundraiser was a huge success and not only did each child get chocolates, socks, shoes, a toiletry set and a 40 euros voucher for Primark so they could choose their own clothes, we had left over funds. The plan was to donate the funds directly to the centre so they could spend the money how they saw fit. They really struggle with funding as the Government only cover 70% of the running costs of the building and they must find the other 30% of funds themselves, so for them Christmas presents is not a priority as they have to feed and clothe them and that is hard enough as no support from the Government is given for this. Lola suggested that we arrange excursions for the children and take them for days out as they hardly get to leave the place. We organised excursions to Sierra Nevada for sledging, Fuengirola zoo, Mijas aqua park and Amazon Adventure. My friends Eva and Heath oversaw food for nearly 50 children ( They did a superb job and make the best baguettes ) and I arranged and organised the activities, negotiating discounts and making sure we could stretch the funds as much as possible. During these excursions we slowly got to know the children one by one and my goodness what a lovely bunch they are. They live for the day, they are happy, they don’t talk about the past and they appreciate everything so much. Each child has a terribly sad background, whether it be abusive, being left at social services as their parents couldn’t feed them, one boy living on a beach and another in a car. Tony ( my husband ) and I have become a collaboration family, and we have 2 children who come and stay with us one weekend a month. Last year we did the fund raiser again and Iceland and Tesco got involved and very kindly donated all the Christmas chocolate which was amazing and meant we could use that money for other things like outings. After buying all the presents last Christmas we had enough for excursions once again and this year we went again to Sierra Nevada, then to the cholate factory in Mijas ( Which they very kindly did for us free of charge ) we went to the aqua park in the summer, kayaking in September and then the imagination museum in Malaga this month. The children really love these outings, it gives them something to look forward to and gets them out into the outside world. There were 6 boys who got into a basketball team locally but couldn’t play as they didn’t have the money to pay for the equipment, so that was paid for by our fund raiser. So here we are now doing this for the third time. All the funds we raise will be used to buy the 46 children Christmas presents and left over funds will be used for excursions. As Iceland and Tesco are donating all the chocolates once again, that saves us a lot about 10 euros per child. We will buy the Primark voucher again for 40 euros per child and a toiletry set for each child. So, we need at least 50 euros per child, we currently have 46 children to buy for. So, we need around 2300 euros for the presents. We also wrap everything, put it in lovely Christmas bag with a name tag on and deliver everything on the 23rd. Eva last year made a huge cake for them as well. We also need money for excursions as it would be lovely to do some of these with them all again next year. So, our goal is 4,000 euros this year. The good news is we have already had people contact us this year and make donations. Plus, we had some funds rolled over from last year. So already before we begin, we are ahead of ourselves which is lovely. We currently have 1871.72 euros. Our goal is to raise 4000 euros in total, so we are almost halfway there already. You wonderful people are the reason that this is possible, without your support none of this would happen. We are happy to give these children our time, but we could never manage all of this without the unwavering support of you all. I truly thank you from the bottom of my heart for your ongoing help and support. You guys are amazing, and your generosity and help are so appreciated.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and all the best of everything for 2024.

“I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver"

Maya Angelou