On August 4 and 5, Ricardo Ramos Sánchez de Movellán, Director of the «Open Innovation | SmartLab »of Banco Santander and Trustee of the Social Promotion Foundation, accompanied by his wife Patricia, visited the social projects that the Foundation for Integral Development (FUDI) develops in Guatemala through its three centers in Tecpán, Chimaltenango:
- Utz Samaj (Good Work), an agricultural center dedicated to teaching, and whose main focus is training to produce various crops both in greenhouses or protective structures, as well as in the open field so that farmers can implement their own productive project or optimize what they already own.
- Ixoqi’ (Woman), a center that seeks, through the commercialization of products made by rural women, to improve their living conditions and that they can actively participate in the development process of their families and communities.
- Aq’on Jay (House of Medicine), a medical referral center whose objective is to train and support rural inhabitants in primary health care, with an emphasis on chronic child malnutrition, as well as to contribute to the well-being of the family through education , promotion, prevention and approach of the health services of the target communities with the opportune follow-up.
The visits were guided by María Mercedes Juárez de Flores, General Manager of FUDI.
On August 4, they took a tour of the FUDI facilities, where the social projects that the organization develops were presented. Subsequently, a lunch was held in Ixoqi ‘, and the day ended with a visit to the community of Joya Grande, where currently the Social Promotion Foundation and FUDI, in consortium also with Food for the Poor and the support of the City of Madrid, have a project underway that aims to contribute to the reduction of poverty, which affects 83% of the population, mostly indigenous. To this end, activities are contemplated that improve agricultural production and training and access to nutritious food; health, through medical-nutritional conferences and training and awareness-raising on issues of nutrition and good hygienic practices; and inequalities, through training in women’s rights
On August 5, the delegation had the opportunity to witness a day of medical care, training workshops and the delivery of medicines that takes place in Aq’on Jay. Subsequently, the communities of Aldea Vista Bella-Pamanzana were visited, where the Foundation and FUDI, thanks to the Regional Government of Madrid, carry out a project with activities focused on improving health and combating child malnutrition, through primary health care for boys and girls under 5 years of age and pregnant women from 100 families and the start-up of family gardens and agricultural training, to ensure adequate nutrition. The third line of activity of the project includes training in human rights, with special attention to equal and equitable participation of women.
The day ended with a sharing of the impressions after these visits and some recommendations on the projects in progress and a lunch offered, again, in Ixoqi’.