Altavista – Fachada

It is a special place. As the oldest inhabited house in the south of the island, it was built by one of the first noble families that came to the Canaries in support of the Spanish Crown. A local historian has published books on the home and its links to the history of Tenerife.

We have bought and lovingly restored a part of Casa Altavista, and now we are planning the renovation of the next phase.

This wing of the house will be used for two purposes: one, as a base for groups of students of all ages coming on science field trips to Tenerife, organised by GeoTenerife.

The other, is to run it as the base for our foundation, Fundación Altavista, offering free respite holidays to families in need (from the UK and Tenerife) experiencing cancer among a family member.

The Foundation will help with funds to adapt the wing of the house to ensure families are comfortable and have everything they need during their stay, including links to local medical professionals who will be on standby should there be any medical emergency needs.

Fundación Altavista will also raise funds to support Professor Angus Dalgleish, of St George’s Hospital in Tooting, who is head of the Cancer Vaccine Institute. His innovative and groundbreaking research into developing a vaccine against a range of cancers is very close to our hearts.

Part of the profits of the company, GeoTenerife, will also be ploughed into Fundación Altavista.

On a personal note, very sadly my husband died of malignant melanoma in December 2008. He struggled for two years with this debilitating disease, and we were very fortunate that as and when we could, we took family breaks to the Canaries to “catch our breaths”.

These holidays are very special in our hearts. My children were so young at the time, but they have wonderful memories of being on holiday with their dad at such a difficult time. And for me, the breaks gave me the strength to pick myself up and carry on with the daily routine of hospital appointments, aggressive treatments and emergencies.

Altavista – Room

I can’t cure anyone of cancer. But I know a man who is working very hard to do so, and I want to support his amazing work. Please see the fundraising page at http://cancervaccine.org.uk/nigelbackhouse.html

And I also want to help families going through the trauma of life-threatening illnesses that do not have the resources we were lucky to enjoy at the time. I want them to run off to an amazingly peaceful, beautiful place and spend quality downtime with their family and build memories that will last a lifetime.

Thank you for your support.

Sharon Backhouse, Fundación Altavista