Grupo Catalana Occidente S A : Fundación Jesús Serra and Fundación Balia double their efforts to break the cycle of poverty

Fundación Balia and Fundación Jesús Serra, from Grupo Catalana Occidente, have strengthened their collaboration agreement to tackle the social emergency in which we are immersed. In this regard, the foundation of the insurance group, which has financed a training, emotional and healthy habits classroom at Centro Balia in the district of Tetuan in Madrid since 2005, will provide financial support for three more classrooms in Seville, Guadalajara and in the La Latina neighbourhood of Madrid.

Thanks to the support of Fundación Jesús Serra, as well as the 27 children who benefit from the Fundación Balia programme in the Tetuan district, 45 more children will receive support guided by an educator dedicated exclusively to them. Thus, a total of 72 children between the ages of 6 and 7 attend these classrooms after school, where they are guided to improve their school performance, as well as being motivated and offered training in values, relational skills and personal growth. The programme also includes support and guidance for families.

For sixteen years, both entities have been collaborating with the common goal of fighting child poverty. The Educational Model of Fundación Balia is based on a very effective pedagogical methodology to promote value education, prevent abandonment and isolation situations and, ultimately, actively promote equal opportunities.

To do this, its programme focuses on the development of the eight key competences for lifelong learning, defined by the European Commission. They are developed through four fundamental pillars: value education, emotional education, school reinforcement and digital literacy. Its purpose is to prevent people born in a context of poverty from inheriting it and to allow them to have opportunities to thrive and integrate into society in order to achieve their personal potential.

The Managing Director of Fundación Jesús Serra, Ignacio Gallardo-Bravo, emphasized that 'we have considered it essential to double our efforts to break the cycle of poverty, and we are convinced that the Fundación Balia is a great ally to achieve this, as it has a consolidated and effective educational methodology.' In relation to its commitment to education, one of the pillars of the foundation's social action, he explained that 'training is the most powerful tool to start building the future from today.'

For her part, the CEO of Fundación Balia, Teresa Rodríguez, noted that 'we work with education as a lever for change and social progress, aware that it is the best opportunity for children and adolescents to emerge from the poverty cycle, from inherited poverty.'