The City Council collaborates with a cultural initiative for schools to address the grief of loss

The Consistory has delivered today to all primary schools a copy of ‘Sofía y el misterio del cielo’, a book written by philologist Esther Ráez, which deals with grief through a symbolic story focused on family dialogue and shared memory.

The City Council of Estepona collaborates with a cultural initiative that aims to enable primary school children to address the issue of death, absence and grief in a respectful and constructive way.

The mayor of Estepona, José María García Urbano, has delivered today to the 13 primary schools in the city of copies of ‘Sofia and the mystery of heaven’, a work written by philologist Esther Ráez where grief is addressed through a symbolic story focused on family dialogue and shared memory.

This tale, aimed at children, is a delicate and profound story that accompanies the little ones in the understanding of death, absence and mourning, without losing tenderness and hope.

This story is born from the personal experience of the author, Pablo Ráez’s sister, and her desire to create a space where children can explore loss and love with careful and sensitive words. Through Sofía, readers discover a journey full of curiosity, affection and understanding, where family ties and the memory of those who are no longer there become a kind and transforming presence. This book also offers a valuable tool for families, teachers and mental health professionals, allowing them to open conversations about grief in a respectful and constructive way.

With illustrations that accompany and enrich the narrative, this story invites us to look at life and absence with love and tenderness, celebrating bonding, memory, and the ability to move forward from awareness and sensitivity.

Readers of the book will follow Sofia, a little girl who tries to understand the death of her uncle from questions, memories and family routines, proposing an approach to the process of loss that invites a conversation about emotions without offering closed answers. The book is also aimed at adults who accompany children and offers a narrative tool for dealing with grief in the family and educational environment.

The councilor has highlighted the interest of this cultural project because it will allow schools to look at this issue through literary creation and imagination. In addition, he noted that the Consistory has also acquired copies of this work so that it can be read by users of the Library of Contemporary Cultures, which is located in the Mirador del Carmen, and by those of the Municipal Library of the Padre Manuel Cultural Center.

He also thanked the educational community of the city for also lending their support to this book, which will become a useful tool in the classroom.

Finally, José María García Urbano has pointed out that this book also contributes to continue remembering the figure of Pablo Ráez, the young athlete from Malaga who became a symbol for his fight in defense of bone marrow donation. In this regard, he recalled that Estepona dedicated a space to value his legacy as a figure of social outreach.