On the 22nd October 2018, students from Sicily (Italy) and Madeira (Portugal) who participated in the project arrived at the Valencian airport. The students, families and teachers went to the airport to welcome them.
A big group of 28 students from Portugal, Italy and Spain were ready to spend a wonderful week, working and collaborating in Spain.
On the first day, the activities took place in the sociocultural centre called La Fabrica in Mislata.
Firstly, the Italian and Portuguese guests received a warm welcome by the headmaster, Miquel Àngel Ruíz Collados, in which the importance of this project was emphasized in order to raise awareness among young people about the need to achieve an effective integration of immigrants, refugees and the most disadvantaged groups in society.
After that, Rosario Fombuena, a representative of Casa Ronald McDonald in Valencia gave visibility to their project, explaining the great work they do supporting ill children who are receiving treatment at hospital and their families. These families are hosted and receive food support at the NGO’s facilities while the child is receiving treatment.
The following presentation was made by Visi as a representative of the Refugee Support Centre in Mislata. She made a very interesting presentation about the labour they do, offering human, social and economic support to refugees and asylum seekers.
After the break, the groups of students of each country gave to the rest of the audience a Power Point presentation about the immigrants’ situation in their countries, and the different mechanisms and support services offered to the most disadvantaged groups.
The formal schedule ended with a talk by Ainhoa Campoy, an ex-student at Colegio Santa Cruz, who collaborates voluntarily with an NGO named Embalum. This NGO offers social, preventive and pre-employment support for those teenagers who are in situations of vulnerability and social risk.
The most playful part of the day was the musical performance of Anna, a talented Ukrainian student at Colegio Santa Cruz, who delighted us with a few musical performances with her cello.
Finally, all the students working together made a poster representing a pair of sneakers, the logo of this strategic partnership, with words and messages related to solidarity, the topic of the project.
And of course, a final group photo.
