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On February 20th, La Scala Restaurant became a beacon of hope and transformation! 120 of the Costa del Sol community turned out to support the homeless and one woman’s dream to bring dignity and hope back to the homeless.
Tireless defender of the downtrodden, Joyce Gyimah BEM, who gave up everything to feed and protect the most vulnerable in the Costa del Sol, wanted to give hope and a shower to the homeless but came away with much more.
Organised by Michel Euesden, with the generosity of Tibbi Aquila, CEO of La Scala Group of Restaurants, and his wife Michelle Mellet, a night at La Scala restaurant, Marbella, was held that no one will ever forget. Their objective? To raise enough funds to hire a person for one year to manage the newly installed showers at Joyce’s Adintre centre in Fuengirola, so that those without a shower, can feel clean, proud, and full of hope seven days a week.
One hundred twenty incredible souls united over the food of the gods and luxurious prizes—from boat trips and track days to VIP tickets and exclusive packages—with every ticket delivering €35 directly to The Adintre charity. We danced with mirrored ballerinas, cheered on fire-eaters and stilt walkers, and shared moments of pure joy as we auctioned, bid, and celebrated together.
‘This night was dedicated to honouring Joyce of Adintre’s incredible work. Her unwavering passion supports the vulnerable in our community. Tibbi, Michelle, Steven, and I rallied for her. We pledged together to raise €11,700 to open the showers for the homeless, along with the unwavering support of our teams. However, the community got together, and they proved that when we unite, we change lives and what a change they made,’ said Michel Euesden.
‘Special thanks to Lorraine Palmer of El Oceano Hotel for her surprise donation of €11,700 at the end of the evening and to the ever-generous Charlie Mullins and Jim McAllister for rounding our contributions to an awe-inspiring €50,000!’
‘We have a housing crisis upon us. Many people are without a home. For the homeless, what we are offering tonight is hope,’ Michel Euesden explained to the gathered diners. Michel volunteers at the Adintre centre, which ensures those without food in the area, get a healthy, satisfying meal at least 5 days a week.
‘There are so many families now, who, on a standard wage are in dire straits, because we are not all digital nomads, we haven’t all got thousands of euros behind us, and because there are so many who after paying the rent, then find out that they can no longer afford to eat. Last week, I had a couple come to me who actually said they were both working and having to live on the streets.’
Then, it was time for the raffle and the big numbers with an auction of incredibly generous donations of luxury auction lots to tempt the Costa del Sol business community to give up their hard-earned cash. They didn’t need to much tempting if all truth were told. At one point Charlie Mullins seemed to be bidding to buy back his own donated treasures, including a rude amount of money for a copy of his own book.
It was then time for the star of the night to introduce herself to the now electrified restaurant crowd. Joyce Gyimah started Adintre 24 years ago, when, as she explained, ‘It was a day that I just decided to go onto the streets and meet the homeless because I was scared of them. I didn’t know why they were on the streets. And I fell in love. I had a small company. I was a real estate agent. I was building houses. I left everything to just dedicate my time to them.’
This lone woman began to help others in need to have dignity, to have food, to have hope and somewhere they could meet and be safe. Joyce cooks every day for them. She picks them up and puts them back on their feet, but until now, she had to organise everything alone.
‘My heart is melting,’ she said. ‘You all have showers. How amazing is it that we are living on this same Earth together, but not everyone has that opportunity? A common shower. To open a tap, and regulate a temperature. And it’s amazing that we don’t all have that. But, tonight, we are all the same people. I took on everything on my own. You have made me feel that I am not alone.’
One of the most successful fundraising events ever held on the coast ended in tears of joy as the power of the Costa del Sol community demonstrated once again that only together can we overcome the hardships and injustices in our world.
Michel said, ‘You, the community, did this—you changed lives on this night. Everyone got involved, and what a difference you made. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You, the Costa del Sol community, showed that miracles do happen, and we were so grateful to be part of this fantastic achievement.’
