Fifteen bicycles for children from the Casa de Campo reception centre
A lung for the spanish capital, green space unique in the world, home to many sporting events that have had and have in sports such as cycling, popular athletics, triathlon or mountain biking some of its most famous manifestations (unforgettable, in this sense, was that record edition in terms of attendance of spectators of the World Cup mountain bike that hosted the mid-1990s), the Casa de Campo is one of the main places of entertainment for the citizens of the Villa and Corte and neighboring populations.
In its surroundings, after the transfer of the facilities by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sports of the Community of Madrid to the Social Policy and Hostel, the youth hostel Richard Shirrmann has become since last February a Reception Center for MENAS (acronym into spanishh for “unaccompanied foreign minors”). Half a hundred young people, mostly Maghrebi and Sub-Saharan, live in these facilities that began to provide their new service last February 11, managed by the Diagrama Foundation.
From this Monday, March 18, their day to day has a new incentive from the hand of the donation of fifteen bicycles that has made the project Bicis para la Vida by ŠKODA, a delivery that has revolutionized the chavalería for the unexpected of the same and for the possibilities it offers them in terms of recreation. One of the aims of the project is to help disadvantaged groups, something that is more than fulfilled in this case. Young minors who have fled their homes, for multiple reasons, and have come to a European soil where they live with absolutely no resources. A donation that seeks both to accelerate their adaptation and to stimulate and promote different educational tasks.
María Barrios Rivera, from the Diagrama Foundation: “In this centre we have fifty children between the ages of 14 and 17. We are very grateful for this donation. We are going to use the bicycles mainly for activities. The location of the center, next to the Casa de Campo, will allow us to take walks. Also some of the boys, and it is something that we have to value later in function of the distance that they have to travel, although I do not believe that there is any problem, they have transmitted to us that they want to use them to go to their school center, those that are schooled, or to move to their different courses”.
Paco Romero, person in charge of the project Bicis para la Vida by ŠKODA: “It has been very gratifying to be able to see in first person the excellent work that the Diagrama Foundation is developing with the younger children in the centre. It is a real pleasure for us to be able to collaborate and help, providing them with bicycles (the first that they will have in this centre) with which they will be able to practice sport, as well as serving the teachers as an educational and formative method, which in turn will help in the personal development of these children who come from very unfavourable situations. It has been exciting to see the excitement with which they have picked up the bikes, and during the time we have been in the center, to see them enjoy making use of them. This donation of bicycles through our Bicis Para la Vida project continues to demonstrate the Alberto Contador Foundation’s commitment to society and to the most disadvantaged groups”.
