The energetic seven step up to support local animal charities

Seven residents from the El Chaparral urbanisation in Mijas are currently in training for a 100-kilometre hike from Nerja to La Cala de Mijas to raise funds for two Costa del Sol animal charities. Known as the Chaparral 7, the five Brits and two Canadians are joining forces to support the Donkey Dreamland sanctuary and the ACE/SHIN canine shelter, both of which are located in Mijas.

The four-day charity challenge was the idea of Shaun Duffy. Originally from Tyne and Wear in North East England, his family has campaigned for animal welfare for almost 45 years.

“My wife has been an animal activist since 1982. My parents also did a lot of work at local animal charities where we lived at the time. They would help out and foster animals, so animal welfare has been at the forefront of my upbringing,” Duffy tells SUR in English.

Duffy settled in Mijas with his wife seven years ago. The couple chose the town, which he describes as “a nice clean environment”, after enjoying several holidays there. He continued to work remotely in the food manufacturing business until 18 months ago, when “it all finished”.

“In my head I never say I'm retired because I am mentally and physically active, which is why I want to do this walk. I like to challenge myself to do things. I'll always want to keep active. I am a regular walker and I love being outdoors,” the energetic 60-year-old says.

However, his plan to do the challenge solo changed when some of his friends offered to participate in order to raise more money.

Duffy runs a social club for the urbanisation where he lives and he organises community events and activities, which has turned into “a really positive and tight community”.

He organised a launch party for the challenge on 1 May, during which the local community donated more than 4,000 euros on the day.

“Within a week of me mentioning what I was doing and for who I was doing it, six of my neighbours offered to join me. Our original target was to raise 5,000 euros to be divided between the two charities, but we almost did that in the first week. We have also had great support from people in the community. One of these is former professional football referee Mark Clattenburg. Mark comes here a lot, and he recorded a video to promote the campaign. The support has been incredible,” he says.

Duffy then decided to approach local businesses, including the Malaga branch of Blue Sky Golf Rental, Serneholt Estates Fuengirola, the La Scala Marbella group, Biddy Mulligan's Irish Pub (La Cala de Mijas) and the Beach House Restaurant in Marbella, among others.

“We have around ten local businesses who have been very generous, some donating as much as 500 euros, and we have already raised in excess of 11,000 euros,” he explains, proudly.

But the idea of a charity hike began to transform into a charity platform, again with the help of the local community. The group set up an Instagram page and also secured the help of Chris Burt, a web designer who designed a site (www.chaparralforgood.com).

“The website itself was designed and donated free of charge by Chris, a generous local resident. This would have cost an arm and a leg. The support has been fantastic, and this has now become a real community effort,” he says.

The kind-hearted animal lover has dedicated many years to animal welfare and he says that this campaign has become “personal”, because “the animals don't have a voice”.

“The animal rights laws in Spain are a bit outdated, but I have seen a positive change since we first discovered Mijas. A lot of these positive changes come from the younger generation, who are more engaged with animals. This generation is naturally bringing through a change where they embrace cats and dogs, which in the past was not the case. This is obviously very good, but there is lots more that the government can do,” he declares.

Duffy is currently in training with his counterparts: Dave Platt (a Donkey Dreamland volunteer), Rob Jones, Janette and Patrick du Monceaux, Lars Evans and Steven Penny.

“We are in different stages of training at the moment. Some are doing around 20 kilometres a day, while others are doing smaller walks. We are all at the stage where we are escalating the efforts we are putting in. We have all agreed to walk at the rate of the slowest person during the challenge, so we are confident that will complete it,” he explains.

The route will begin at the Balcón de Europa in Nerja on Tuesday 10 November, from where the group, whose ages range from 59 to 73, will head to Torre del Mar. The following day their route will take them to Malaga city, before heading to Torremuelle (Thursday) and the final stretch to La Cala de Mijas on Friday, where the Chaparral 7 and their supporters intend to celebrate their achievement.

The walkers will “rattle tins” along the route in hope of attracting “a few coins” as they pass through the province. Duffy is encouraging people to join in at different stages of the walk, and several people have already asked if they can just walk the last leg in order to boost funds further. One of these is a friend who is flying from the UK to Malaga especially to join the Chaparral 7 at the Malaga to Mijas stage. The main aim, Duffy explains, is to raise “as much money as possible” to support these “wonderful organisations” and the animals they care for.

“We're proud to support two incredible animal charities that rely entirely on donations and the dedication of volunteers. Every day, they work tirelessly to rescue, care for and find loving homes for animals in need. Their work makes a life-changing difference, and they simply couldn't do it without help. This challenge won't be easy, but it's nothing compared to the struggles these animals face,” he concludes.

Those wishing to support the challenge can do so on the group's website, Facebook, Instagram or GoFundMe pages.