Help of Denia & District

Help Receives Royal Recognition

"Turn left, curtsey, and take three forward".

Jill Porter-Smith thought the entire room must be able to hear her knees knocking as she listened to the instructions. She was in Buckingham Palace to receive the MBE awarded to her in the 1999 New Years' Honours List, and her nervousness was palpable. To this day, she is unable to remember the dialogue between the Queen and her before a firm handshake sent her on her way.

She earned her award, one of the first to be awarded to someone living in Spain, for her services to the British Community on the Costa Blanca. Jill says that she is pleased to accept the award on behalf of all her co-workers in the HELP organization. In 2000, Elizabeth Holmwood became the second member of the group to receive a similar award.

The HELP organization was first started in Javea in 1977 by Barbara Bridgen, who discussed with a group of fellow Britons at her Javea home the best way of offering assistance to any British person throughout illness, disability, old age, loneliness, or merely acting as interpreters. This was the extension of an idea that had already occurred to Mrs Bridgen during her stay in Tokyo.

She soon discovered that most people who retire to Spain arrive as a couple, but once a partner dies, the other can experience difficulties, In contrast, the Spanish family unit is so strong that many of the Social Services that are available in Britain are not required here, with the Spanish families sharing nursing and other tasks when a relative is either hospitalised or becomes ill at home.

It took twelve months to get the group started. Manned entirely by volunteers, HELP was formally launched by Charles Thompson, the first chairman, in 1978. At that time, Javea was a sleepy fishing village, and not the vast sprawling town of today, having two doctors who only spoke Spanish. Equally, there was no local hospital, and very few people had telephones. Much of the equipment in those early years was of the 'make and mend1 variety, with a large number of HELP blinds starting to appear. These were pieces of canvas attached to a broom handle that were hung in a window, being pulled open with a piece of string if the person was in need.
Money was also a problem, but a Christmas bazaar and regular bring-and-buy sales soon managed to help the group out. From the outset, the Javea Charity Shop and the Teulada Lions Club have been a constant source of support.

Over the years, the concept has altered somewhat. Demands now made on the volunteers range from requests for a Zimmer frame after a hip operation, to help with repatriation for those unable to cope alone. Translation services are always in demand and several of the group are fluent Spanish speakers.

The work of the Javea group became so well known that a special series of courses was started so that people from Denia and Torrevieja could start their own HELP groups. The Denia group was formed in 1984, and Jill Porter-Smith joined shortly after its inauguration, with her husband serving a chairman for six years. The opening of the Marina Alta Hospital in Denia in 1987 resulted in even more requests for assistance, and a hospital visiting service was organized that is still in place today, with members of the organization visiting all foreign in-patients at least once a week.

Calling on their own members, and those of groups farther afield, HELP manages to cover most European languages, except on one occasion; they had to call in the manager of a local Chinese restaurant to help out.
However, the setting up of these services was by no means an easy task, with Spanish resistance to what they saw as Foreign Intervention having to be overcome before the volunteers were even allowed into any hospital. However, today the Marina Alta Hospital Director, Jesus de la Quadra calls the HELP organization and its members 'Inspirational', adding that he values their services very highly.

The early problems over funding have long since disappeared, with donations from grateful patients, support from dubs, theatre groups and businesses, and even the local town halls. On many an occasion, the local English bar has been called in to deliver hot meals in emergencies. Most of the equipment offered is on free loan, although a deposit is requested until its return. Surplus money is always passed back into the community in the form of new equipment. The Spanish health service is as short of funds as the NHS of Britain, but over the years HELP has been able to provide assistance in many ways, over the years providing two Holter machines for heart monitoring, a defibrillator, and even a miniature EGG unit for use on home visits, which can be plugged into a telephone line for instant diagnosis.

Today, HELP has branches stretching the length of the Costa Blanca, essentially offering assistance in emergencies. Many times the organization has made contact with relatives in Britain when people have been found to be in desperate trouble, but all they can do in reality here is try to make life easier for those who decide to stay. Their latest objective is to encourage younger people with good Spanish knowledge to join the organization, for every telephone call is answered by a cheery voice. It is reassuring to know that there is someone out there when HELP is needed.