Spain Unites Through Crowdfunding to Aid Wildfire Victims

A wave of solidarity is emerging in Spain from crowdfunding platforms to help those affected by the fires, to rescue people who have lost loved ones, possessions, or their livelihoods.

The wave of fires ravaging Spain is leaving a tragic toll, causing loss of life and causing a multitude of material damage, leaving harrowing stories for those who survived but lost everything.

After the flames, only desolation remains, burned-out homes or businesses that have vanished in a matter of minutes, circumstances that are aggravated for the most vulnerable people , those with fewer financial means or those who must face difficult financial situations due to various circumstances.

Requests for donations in Spain

These are very difficult times, which are being reflected on crowdfunding platforms, where requests for financial donations are beginning to appear to help those who have suffered the ravages of the flames out of a difficult situation.

The fires affecting various autonomous communities in Spain have sparked a wave of solidarity, with a series of campaigns on these digital platforms seeking to help those affected by the fires.

Crowdfunding Rises in Spain to Support Victims of Devastating Wildfires

The crowdfunding platform GoFundMe has made special mention of “initiatives supporting those who have lost everything due to the fires affecting southern Europe : from Spain to Portugal, via Greece and Italy.”

“Many people are working hard to help displaced people start anew. On this constantly updated page, you’ll find some of the most important campaigns. In addition to donating, you can also create a fundraiser to support affected communities,” they write from this digital space.

Tres Cantos Fire

The most striking case, and the one that has attracted the most media attention, is that of the Mircea family, the Romanian citizen who died trying to save horses during the August 11th Tres Cantos fire in Spain that burned nearly 2,000 hectares.

In this regard, Maria Requejo, a resident of the Madrid municipality, has started a donation campaign to benefit the family of Mircea Spiridon, the only fatality in the fire. These donations will cover the costs of repatriating the body to his hometown, Tulcea (Romania).

The Mircea Spiridon campaign on GoFundMe

The fundraising effort is being carried out through the GoFundMe platform, under the title ” For the Family of a Hero from Tres Cantos. “So far, they have raised more than 30,000 euros, more than the estimated 5,000 euros. The platform explains that any excess funds raised will be used for other urgent needs

The funds raised for Mircea’s family will not only cover the transportation of the remains, but also help alleviate “funeral costs” and ” provide immediate support to the family in a time of deep grief,” according to the website.

Rebuild an adapted home

The same fire that started in Madrid devastated the lives of Carlos and his son Elian. Judith Nieto and Jaume Puig have launched a campaign to rebuild a home adapted for Elian, who suffers from MEF2C syndrome.

On the platform, the same one from which help is being requested for Mircea, you can read: “We are Judith and Jaume, and together with all the people who love Carlos and his son Elian, we have organized this fundraiser to help them get their lives back as soon as possible .”

In the devastating fire in Tres Cantos (Madrid), the house that Carlos had built with so much effort and sacrifice was completely destroyed . In a matter of hours, they lost everything. There was nothing left to save.

Farm destroyed

BeeCool Farm was a small family paradise with beekeeping, an urban garden, and animals located in the town of Tres Cantos, Spain, which was also devastated by the flames. The platform explains that ” we are a family with three children, all passionate about nature , beekeeping, and animals.”

“Twenty-five years ago, we bought an empty piece of rural land, with no trees or anything but grass, for our first horse . Little by little, with effort and dedication, it has become a small paradise,” they explain of their project, now affected by the fires. They started with a horse, a sheep, a chicken coop, rabbits, and a piglet… they also planted trees, a number that grew every year.

Beecool Estate

“We’re continuing with an urban garden project so more people can enjoy planting in the countryside, and in recent years we’ve decided to dedicate a special place to beekeeping, creating the BeeCool project with our hives and bees to protect them and raise awareness about the world of this small insect, which is so fundamental to our lives,” they said.

Although they managed to rescue the horses, the rest of the facilities, beehives, sheep, and trees were destroyed. Therefore, Luis Pernía Martínez’s campaign is asking for help to recover the well, rebuild shelters, replant 400 trees, and replace 30 beehives.

Solidarity in León

Likewise, in León, a crowdfunding campaign organized by the Peña Culturalistas in Barcelona was launched, also seeking to channel crowdfunding into helping victims of the forest fires that devastated the natural and human heritage of Las Médulas.

However, donations have been halted because “the main NGO operating on the ground” has rejected the aid. In this case, the funds will be reimbursed to the donors.

Valencia, Andalusia and Portugal

Besides Spain, in Portugal, a fundraiser led by Julia Ribeiro is seeking to help Luis, whose home was completely destroyed by the fire. Although he and his daughter, Amandina, escaped unharmed, they have lost everything except the clothes they were wearing.

These types of crowdfunding campaigns that emotionally move citizens are not new , from the numerous requests for help that were activated after the fire at the El Campanar residential building in Valencia, Spain, to the request for help from an association to buy resources to be able to combat forest fires in the Andalusian Sierra Morena mountain range.

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(Featured image by Michael Held via Unsplash)

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