Malaga foster family to host Moroccan girl due to undergo heart surgery at Materno hospital

The search has lasted almost one month. A couple around their 60s will host the child and her mother. They live very close to the hospital and have a spare room now that their children have grown up.

The man works for Limasam (the municipal cleaning company) and the woman works as a secondary school caretaker. The couple have undergone the standard assessment process and passed the interview without any problems.

There is still no date set for the arrival of the girl and her mother, although their visas are already being processed. Infancia Solidaria coordinator Manuel Cano has said that they may arrive in the city the day after the visas are granted.

On 19 September, Infancia Solidaria issued two urgent appeals with the aim of finding two foster families for two girls with heart conditions: a young Moroccan girl and a 13-year-old girl from Honduras, the latter also requiring treatment and surgery at the Materno hospital for a heart condition.

Six families expressed an interest, but the charity finally selected one to take in the girl from Honduras on 3 October. The NGO continued to search for another family for the young Moroccan girl for two weeks, until it found one that meets all the requirements.

Of the five remaining families, some rang simply to enquire, while others, despite their goodwill, did not meet the conditions: having a separate room for the mother and her daughter; being financially secure so that acting as hosts would not place an even greater burden on them than that already imposed by the cost of living today; and, finally, passing a personal interview.

The idea is for everyone to be comfortable, both those offering hospitality and those receiving it, given that this arrangement can sometimes last up to three months. Although there is goodwill, a willingness to help and solidarity, the NGO is cautious not to put the family's finances under strain.

The appeal for help, in whatever form, reached every corner of the province. According to Cano, their appeals had never had such an impact before.

The planned duration of their stay is three months, although this will depend on the medical requirements of their treatment and the after-effects of their surgeries. Only the girls' doctors in Malaga can authorise their return home.

"The two girls are coming here for heart surgery, which they cannot have in their own countries, as they lack both the technical and human resources," Cano said.

"We are grateful for the offers, of course, but we are not going to cause any trouble for anyone. We conduct the interview at the family's home to get to know the couple, see if there are any children and look at the house. They also have to provide, as do all those of us who work with children, a certificate proving they have no record of sexual offences, as per the Ministry of Justice's requirements," Cano explained.

In addition to these two girls, a one-year-old baby from Mauritania is due to arrive, also to undergo surgery for a heart condition. "We already have a foster family for him. It's an experience that can be very rewarding and many people do it again. We have chosen two retired doctors from Puerto de la Torre. Two years ago, they took in a Venezuelan girl. We are truly grateful to them," Cano said.

He highlighted the support of Casares town hall, which in recent years has recognised the work of Infancia Solidaria with the Blas Infante Casares Solidario award: a cash prize which the NGO has used to cover the costs of various stays for children requiring surgery in Malaga.

Cano also thanked the regional government's body to which the children's cases are referred and which must approve their visit in the Costa del Sol. "We hope everything goes well and that they return home happy," Cano stated.

The coordinator of Infancia Solidaria said that, although patients arrive with a diagnosis from their place of origin, they undergo a process of diagnosis confirmation once in Malaga. The surgery and the subsequent recovery "usually last between seven and ten days, unless there are complications".

This is not the only NGO working to find foster families in Malaga. Recently, the Tierra de Hombres Foundation reported the case of a Togolese boy who had undergone heart surgery at the Materno hospital.

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