On Friday, 8th July, the Provincial Grand Master of Valencia, RWBro Norman Wheatley, made a surprise visit to the Blasco Ibanéz summer school in Guadalest to visit the children and see for himself how the school was progressing. For the last four years, Freemasons in Spain have sponsored under-privileged children to attend this summer school for both enjoyment and learning in a friendly and safe atmosphere. At present thirty-five children are at the school, of which eighteen are from the El Preventorio children’s home in Gandia.
The Provincial Grand Master is an extremely busy man, as his remit stretches from the north of Castellon to the south of Alicante and covers no fewer than twenty-seven Masonic Lodges, however, he was determined to make time to visit these children and arrived on Friday with another member of Grand Lodge, WBro Alberto Moreno and me, his Provincial Press Officer. The first thing that struck all of us was the beautiful surroundings in which the school is situated. It is nestled between the highest mountains in Alicante amid pine forests and near to the reservoir of Guadalest.
Upon arrival we were met by Sr Juan Carlos Ortuño who runs the school and has care of all the children. He too gave up his valuable time to show us around the school and enabled us to see the amenities offered to the children, including sporting, cultural and educational facilities and also many interesting things to do as this is meant to be a fun time for everyone. We started by meeting all of the children in an assembly hall who were extremely happy to see us, if a little mystified as to who we were and why we were there. This was short lived however, as the first thing we did was have a question and answer session.
The children asked the Provincial Grand Master questions such as who we were, where we lived, why we were there and, children being children, why were we paying for them to be there? The Provincial Grand Master responded by saying that we were an organisation that tries to help people who, through no fault of their own, happen to be more disadvantaged in life than most and that, where possible, we tried to offer practical help. That was the reason that we had chosen to help them and see that they too could have a little fun and enjoyment which was why we had brought them to the summer school. We also responded to their other questions which were full of natural curiosity and we were all delighted to see that they had the confidence to shout out questions with little hesitation or embarrassment.
There then followed a very moving few moments while one child read a letter of thanks which they had all had a hand in writing and I confess we were all very emotional, none more so than the Provincial Grand Master himself. I have added a translation of this beautiful letter below.
“We want to thank you for making us happy. We will never forget what you have done for us all. We are very pleased and happy to have enjoyed ten days in this fantastic camp. Again thank you very much for making our dreams come true. Wherever you go to you will always be in our hearts. Thanks for everything”
After hearing that we all felt we needed a little while to compose ourselves so the children were sent off to change into their new summer school t-shirts so we could take some group photos. They arrived back very quickly, looking resplendant in their purple t-shirts and were soon excitedly taking their places for the photoshoot. This too became rather emotional as several of the pupils decided they wanted to thank the Provincial Grand Master personally and he was soon enveloped by numerous little arms wanting to give him a big hug and thank him. We then took numerous photos, some of which are attached.
We had further discussions with Sr Ortuño about the school, how it had started and what the children could expect. I think it is fair to say that it was obvious how much both Sr Ortuño and his mentors love these children and do everything possible to make their stay a happy one. It is perhaps worth mentioning that the mentors, one of which is Juan Carlos’ daughter, Alba, are usually children who have visited the school themselves when they were younger and, now they are older, want to return to the school to give something back for the good times they had. A wonderful tribute to the school and to these wonderful volunteers!
We then had a wonderful lunch at the restaurant which prepares food for the children. We thus had exactly the same menu as they did and I can assure you it was excellent. Tapas to start followed by a first class seafood paella and followed by fresh fruit or ice creams. This was enjoyed by all. Thinking that was the end of the tour we were preparing to leave when Sr Ortuño decided we should visit the swimming pool where the children would soon be going to cool off a little. This is the municipal pool in Guadalest which is fantastic and set in one of the most beautiful settings I have ever seen, nestled under huge cliffs which are sometimes floodlit at night. It costs just seventy-five cents to get in, but even this was paid for by Masons so that the children could enjoy every facility possible at no cost to themselves, their parents or carers.
When the children arrived they saw us and immediately started waving and shouting to us. It was obvious how much they were enjoying themselves and how grateful they were for this opportunity which otherwise it is unlikely they would have had. They quickly changed and plunged into the pool. We were sitting having a drink watching them but I think we would all have liked to go for a swim as well. It was an incredibly hot day but none of us would have missed it for anything. To see those children having such a wonderful time makes all the money raising efforts so worthwhile and I hope from the pictures you will be able to see just how valuable is the help which we are able to offer to worthy causes such as this.
We finally left the school two and a half hours later than we expected, hot and tired, but so thankful that we had come. It was a splendid day enjoyed by everyone. If you should be interested in helping to fund this and other worthy causes or perhaps you are interested in joining Freemasonry please feel free to contact me on the email given below and I will answer any questions you might have.
WBro William Turney Press Officer
Provincial Grand Lodge of Valencia