Help Vicente and his family in DANA stricken Aldaia Valencia

Meet Vicente and (part) of his family!

Vicente and his family have been my loyal friends in Aldaia, Valencia since childhood, back in the seventies. We used to spend our 6 to 8 weeks of summer holidays together on the streets of Aldaia where our families had houses just across the street from each other.

Vicente and his older sister Josefina took charge of the family after their mother – one of my mother’s best friends – passed away at a young age. Vicente truly is the ‘patriarch’ of the family due to the mental breakdown of his father. His brothers Angel, the twins Javi and Alfredo, his sisters Josefina and Sonia, all have children and work hard to make ends meet.

They are not lawyers, doctors, consultants or managers… they are what we call blue-collar! A gym instructor, a wood worker, a sales man in Zara and a car mechanic. Ordinary people with ordinary lives. But happy as hell!

You can somewhat imagine what they have been through since now two weeks ago the flooding took place. Some of the family members have lost everything.. their Aldaia homes flooded with two meters of dirty, muddy water, barely escaping with makeshift ladders to the neighbors on higher floors. Cars in worst case swept away, damaged beyond repair, flooded or needing costly repairs to function normally again.

It will be costly to get their lives back on track. That also means, making a huge paella in the local parc for me and my family whenever we visit!

Proud as this man is,… he refused every help I offered… he would not let me travel to Valencia… saying it was too early, that the situation was under control but very chaotic at the same time, that they would not let me enter the area not being from Valencia etc. He is probably right,.. but at the same time adding to my feeling of uselessness.

I want to help this family. You too know me as a proud, honest man, who truly loves his hometown of Aldaia in Valencia and speaks of nothing else! I have helped many of you with tips, do’s and don’ts on how to enjoy my beautiful city. Now, please help me.

I consulted with many experts in what to do. So, people.. please help me raise enough money to get them up and running as quickly as possible. They need new (used) cars, furniture, clothing etc. The money will go into a separate ING bank account with full transparency. My name is Alejandro Matas Guiot, I live in the Netherlands, but my heart lives in Valencia. I will personally transfer the money to this family or buy the goods myself. I will make photos and videos and cry a lot when I tell them my friends, colleagues and network did not forget them!

Thank you in advance.