Charity seeks temporary home for little boy who is awaiting heart surgery at Malaga hospital
The young child will travel to the Costa del Sol from Nicaragua with his mother in September and is expected to spend three months in the city
Spanish NGO Infancia Solidaria is looking for a foster home in Malaga for a nine-year-old Nicaraguan boy who has heart disease and for his mother. The little boy is going to undergo surgery at the city's Materno Infantil Hospital in September and he and his mother are expected to stay in the capital of the Costa del Sol for around three months.
Infancia Solidaria arranges travel and accommodation for children that are travelling to Spain for medical treatment or care and ensures that those under fourteen years of age do not come alone and they normally travel with their mother or grandmother.
For example, as SUR recently reported, little Ali from Kenya also came to Malaga for heart surgery. During his convalescence he stayed with his mother, Hawa, in the home of Mariángeles Ramos and her family.
In order to bring the children to Malaga, the charity normally appeals to the Junta de Andalucía, which in turn has to check that the surgical intervention the child needs cannot be carried out in their country. At this point, the regional government is also responsible for visas and organising travel for the mother and child. Like for Ali and Hawa, it is quite often the first time the family has travelled by plane.
Missions in other countries
Infancia Solidaria also sends doctors to other countries to operate 'in situ' and to train and teach local professionals. At the end of 2024, as SUR reported, a team from the city's maternity hospital travelled to Nicaragua as part of the Andalusian health system staff development programme. Twelve children underwent heart surgery in just eight days in a hospital in Managua. The children had their future compromised by congenital cardiovascular disease and many of them did not have a life expectancy of more than five years.
Alejandro is one of the children from Nicaragua and who is still awaiting for an operation. Thanks to Infancia Solidaria more than a hundred children had operations in 2024 alone and 500 children have received treatment in the 18 years that the organisation has been working across Spain, America and Africa. The NGO urges families in Malaga to offer their homes to take in these children and their families during their recovery.
Those interested in hosting the children and their parent or guardian should email: manolo@infanciasolidaria.org.
