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Benalmadena, Thursday, November 21, Susan Hannam was commemorated for her more than 30 years of service in offering palliative care to those in their last days on the Costa del Sol, and for having received the Order of the British Empire medal for her dedication, initiative, and love.
At the Joan Hunt Auditorium in Benalmadena, Dr Marissa Martín, CEO and Medical Director of Cudeca, the palliative care charity, opened by commenting on what a wonderful part of their culture the British had imported, that of volunteering and charity fundraising.
Susan Hannam, a qualified nurse who joined with founder Joan Hunt to build the first self-funded hospice from the generosity of local residents, received accolade after accolade for her contribution to community and care.
‘You Susan, you are Spanish now, a great woman’
Councillor Áurea Peralta González, an ex-student under Susan and now responsible for Wellbeing Social y Families, Social Integration, and Health in Benalmadena Council, was one of the first to take the mic. ‘You Susan, you are Spanish now, a great woman, always involved in society. Susan knows how to listen, she knows how to understand, and she has never said a bad word against anyone. She’s a person so dedicated; she’s a personality you just fall in love with instantly.’
What followed was a video of the auspicious ceremony in which Susan received her OBE from Prince William at Windsor Castle, which was met with rapturous applause from the Benalmadena crowd. After the video giving the mostly Spanish audience some background on the significance of the OBE award, Susan took to the stage to sit in conversation with trustee Liz Parry BEM for an informal conversation in a mixed-up blend of Spanish and English – a bilingual soup reflecting Susan’s integration into Spanish society.
Liz asked in Spanish if there was anyone in the auditorium who didn’t understand English. There were some umms and ahhs and they continued in English anyway.
‘If you get in involved with Joan Hunt, you have to get in there and dedicate yourself fully, explained Susan. ‘I used to go over to England in the summer so my children could spend some time in an English school. And while they were in school, I would go to visit all the hospices around the area. When I got home to Spain, I showed Joan all the information I had gathered, and that’s where the project started.‘
Not expats, ‘anglomalagueñas’
Susan was the first Cudeca nurse to make home visits. From then they found more and more people who volunteered to join do their bit, above all, the Brits, and in Susan’s words, ‘us expats’. Liz then explained to the audience that they didn’t like the term ‘expats’ and preferred to call themselves ‘anglomalagueñas’. Right from the beginning.’ And that was when they opened the first charity shop in Fuengirola.’So, that’s where we started, with all the things thrown all over the floor. Poor Marissa said, ‘This ain’t going to work.‘
Liz pointed out that the hat Susan was wearing, the same she had worn on the day of receiving her OBE, was also a purchase from a Cudeca charity shop.
According to Susan, ’We were the first palliative care-givers who could give comfort to those at the ends of their lives in English. And when you feel bad, receiving that attention in your own language gives something special.’
‘I decided to take my grandchildren back to England, where their roots were from,’ Susan mentioned, ‘where I’m from.’ And in a thick native accent she declared, ‘I’m from Yorkshire!’
The emotion that followed left not one dry eye in the house, with tearjerking accolade after accolade from friends, family, and colleagues. This anglomalagueña has added something so loved, so special, so selfless to the Costa del Sol, she changed and raised the bar of the definition of generosity above and beyond anything that had gone before.
Congratulations, Susan Hannam of Cudeca. Your OBE, your recognition, is most deserved.