The renewal will be signed next Thursday, August 27 during a meeting that will include the closing of the first year of intervention, where young people from more than 92 educational institutions were impacted and their main concerns were converted into actions for the community.
Guayaquil. – The Junta de Beneficencia de Guayaquil and the Scholas Occurrentes Foundation will renew the agreement through which they develop educational and community programs in Ecuador aimed at listening to young people, strengthening coexistence and promoting a culture of peace. During their first year of joint work, the initiatives reached 2,760 young people from the sports project of the Junta de Beneficencia de Guayaquil that scholarships more than 15,000 children and young people nationwide.
The subscription will take place on Thursday, August 27, at 10:30 a.m., at the Presley Norton Museum, as part of the closing of the first year of Scholas Occurrentes’ intervention in Ecuador. The meeting will be attended by José María del Corral, president and co-founder of Scholas Occurrentes; and Juan Xavier Cordovez, director of the Junta de Beneficencia de Guayaquil, who will formalize the continuity of the alliance for a second year.
The day will close the first year of intervention, in which the proposals raised by the young people during the Scholas Citizenship process went from reflection to action. The program involved students from more than 92 educational institutions, who identified the absence of their parents and caregivers in their emotional, school and daily life as the main problem in their environment and proposed solutions that were later implemented by the Board and Scholas.
Based on these proposals, the Junta de Beneficencia and Scholas Occurrentes developed actions aimed at strengthening family ties, through meetings, recreational activities, artistic expressions and awareness-raising spaces.
The closing ceremony will present the results of this process, which reflects one of the principles of Scholas’ methodology: listening to young people, turning their proposals into concrete actions and recognizing them as protagonists of the transformation of their communities and the construction of a more peaceful coexistence.
“We believe that listening to young people is the first step to build solutions and also to build peace. Through this agreement with Scholas Occurrentes, their concerns and proposals become concrete actions. Renewing this alliance means continuing to bet on young people as protagonists of change and strengthening spaces for meeting, dialogue and coexistence in our communities,” said Juan Xavier Cordovez, director of the Junta de Beneficencia de Guayaquil.
A year of programs and results
During the first year, the alliance between the Junta de Beneficencia and Scholas Occurrentes expanded its impact to different educational, sports, social and health spaces.
More than 2700 young people from the 92 participating schools began the Training of Trainers aimed at more than 50 coaches to incorporate the Scholas methodology that integrates sports, art and education in values. Educational kits were delivered to 246 young people from the schools of the Junta so that they can apply the Scholas methodology in relationships with others and finally and perhaps one of the most beautiful initiatives was “Estar Juntos” (Being Together) that united 71 young people from the schools of the Junta with 100 older adults from the Hogar Corazón de Jesús to promote the culture of intergenerational encounter, responding to the call of Pope Francis to create spaces for dialogue where adults can remind young people of their roots and where young people invite adults to dream despite the experience of old age.
The initiative also reached the Neuroscience Hospital, specialized in the care of people with mental health conditions, where 60 patients participated in sensory stimulation and accompaniment days, aimed at strengthening the humanization of care.
By 2026, we will approach 3000 beneficiaries and we will integrate listening and work in the culture of encounter with young people, an additional training space aimed at fathers, mothers and caregivers, aimed at strengthening the accompaniment of the educational and emotional processes of children.
The ceremony will bring together authorities, representatives of the education sector, teachers, volunteers and participating students. The renewal of the alliance will allow these initiatives to be expanded and to continue turning listening, education and meeting into concrete actions for the community.