MADRID, 28 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The president of the Higher Sports Council (CSD), José Manuel Franco, was at the facilities of the Real Madrid Foundation and the Salesian Congregation in Santo Domingo during his trip to the Dominican Republic on a visit where the Spanish ambassador and members of the local government, as reported on Thursday by the CSD.
José Manuel Franco went to the Hainamosa socio-sports school to see first-hand the work that the Real Madrid Foundation does there, where social inclusion and comprehensive education of boys and girls between 6 and 17 years of age are promoted through football and basketball.
The visit of the Secretary of State for Sport was organized with the collaboration of the Embassy of Spain and the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECID). In addition to the president of the CSD, the meeting was also attended by the Spanish ambassador to the country, Antonio Pérez Hernández, the Vice Minister of Sports of the Dominican Republic, Franklin de la Mota and representatives of the AECID, Mapfre-BHD on behalf of the Foundation Mapfre, the Real Madrid Foundation and the Salesianos-Don Bosco Foundation.
“Today’s is the most emotional act that I have had in my political life, I will never forget it,” said José Manuel Franco, who was impressed by the “desire to get out of difficult situations” of the students , whom he saw with “a look full of illusion, hope and gratitude”.
The Real Madrid Foundation currently helps 400 minors thanks to its collaboration with both the Don Bosco Foundation, with which it has been working for ten years, and the Mapfre Foundation, with which it has been collaborating since 2013. In addition to learning through football and basketball, these schools provide training and comprehensive care to their students, whom they try to get out of situations of social disadvantage or risk of exclusion.
The facilities are located in the Don Bosco Educational Square in Hainamosa, being the only place enabled for sports practice, with the importance that this entails among children and adolescents in the area. In addition, the Domingo Savio Home School is also the most important center in its environment dedicated to both training and sports practice. All this is complemented with tutoring workshops, medical check-ups or nutritional supplements.