Joan Hunt: A selfless Brit who broke down barriers

Numerous foreign residents have left their mark in the province of Malaga over the years, especially those who have founded or continuously supported charitable associations. Probably one of the most renowned of these was the pioneering efforts of one British resident who was known across the province and beyond as a hardworking, selfless woman who broke down barriers to give the area something it needed. The name Joan Hunt will be known to most people in Malaga, both foreign and Spanish, the founder in 1992 of the palliative care hospice in Benalmádena.

The Cudeca Foundation began in Hunt's house shortly after the death of her husband, Fred, just a few years after the couple retired to the Costa del Sol in 1984. It was this that ignited her unwavering resolve to fill that gap to help patients of terminal illnesses in the final days of their lives. Cudeca has since become a pioneer in palliative care in Spain. Under Hunt's guidance, the volunteers, staff and a vast army of supporters have raised millions of euros over the years to help people die with dignity. Along with the hospice, the foundation continued to expand, opening more than 25 charity shops, a new education centre and the only children and teenager's palliative care unit in Andalucía.

Along with a roundabout located close to the hospice (Glorieta Joan Hunt), named in her honour in 2013 by the town hall, Hunt received numerous awards over the years. Among them were the OBE presented to her by Prince Charles (2002), the Málaga Woman of the Year Award (2005) and the Premio del Día de Andalucía from the regional government in 2015.

She died in June 2021, but her name lives on in many ways, one of them being the Joan Hunt awards given by Malaga's provincial authority and Cudeca to foreign-born residents who have made an important contribution to the local community.